Floriana F.C.

Football was introduced in Malta at the end of the 19th Century by the British troops stationed on the island.[3] At that time Malta formed part of the British Empire and, the Island was the base of British forces in the heart of the Mediterranean.[4] The forces' barracks, which were strategically located around the island of Malta, enjoyed large areas that were used as parade grounds, training areas and for sporting activities.[3]

The sports practised by the soldiers were mainly cricket, hockey and football.[3] The British forces in Malta were mainly stationed in Floriana, Cospicua, Mtarfa, Marsa and Sliema.[3] The locals who were influenced by the soldiers stationed in the area were introduced to these sporting activities.[4] The most popular sport amongst the residents of Floriana was football,[4] however some also practised cricket and hockey.[3] Floriana still has its hockey club, carrying the name Floriana Young Stars Hockey Club.

Between 1894 and 1905 the club's colours were green/red quartered shirts, black shorts with green and red socks.[4] The official colours of the club as we know them today, green and white vertical striped shirts, white shorts and green/white horizontal striped socks, were introduced in 1905.[4] At that time the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were stationed in Floriana.[4] During that year, three friendly matches were held between this regiment and FFC.[4] At the end of the final match both teams exchanged their shirts and later the FFC changed their official colours to their green and white shirts.[4] The regiment left the Island for India in that same year.[4] The ties between Floriana and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were so strong that the people hailing from Floriana were nicknamed after the Irish, "Tal-Irish".[4]

The club's mascot is the lion, which features prominently on the club's badge since 1936 together with the Latin motto "Ex Ludis Virtus", meaning "virtue out of the game".[6] In this regard the club's badge represents the fierceness of the lion together with the virtues of sportsmanship. The lion was chosen as the club's mascot for two general reasons attributed to history of Floriana.

First attribution is to the coat-of-arms of the Grandmaster of Order of St. John, Manoel de Vilhena, which has the lion on it.[6] Vilhena was the mastermind behind the construction of a fortification suburg of Floriana (originally known as Borgo Vilhena) to defend the capital city of Valletta from land attacks.[4] He even ordered the construction of a lion statue fountain, with his Grandmaster code of arms being held by the lions hand, in the centre of Floriana's main square, St. Anne Square, which is still there today.[6]

Second attribution to the lion is the statue of St. Publius who is the patron saint of Floriana. The St. Publius' statue has a lion with it which shows how Publius was killed for his Christian preachings.

The first game won by the team was confirmed on the feast of the patron's village St. Publius, on 13 April 1910, which is to some considered as a divine confirmation.[6]

On the 25th of May 2020 Floriana FC were crowned champions of the BOV Premier League. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the season was ultimately stopped earlier and Floriana was crowned champions of the league.

Celebrations were then hosted in the Fossos in Floriana where a mass gathering of supporters broke social distancing rules and broke several Maltese laws by not staying in groups of six of less. The event sparked national outrage within the public in Malta and was featured on nearly all Maltese national newspapers.[7]

Floriana FC fans celebrate 2020 win

Since the foundation of the Malta Football Association, in 1909,[8] (fiv)and local competitions the club won a total of 108 honours, which includes 26 league titles and 25 Cup knock out competitions. The club has also achieved a number of impressive feats, such as four consecutive league championships, ten doubles (League plus Cup) and a League title with maximum points.

Over the years FFC participated in the various competitions organised by the European football body, UEFA, such as the:

• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
• Fairs Cities' Cup
• UEFA Europa League
• Intertoto Cup

In 1962, the club was the first to represent Malta in UEFA competitions in its Cup Winners' Cup against the Hungarian side Ujpest Dozsa. Over the years, FFC had the opportunity to meet some renowned European football clubs, including the likes of:

• Ipswich Town
• Inter Milan
• Sparta Rotterdam
• Panathinaikos
• Ferencváros
• Dundee United
• FC Porto
• Borussia Dortmund
• Hajduk Split
• Red Star Belgrade

On two occasions FFC made it to the next round, 1993–94 Champions Cup and Intertoto Cup 1999–00.

In 1987 the club founded its youth sector, Floriana FC Nursery (FFCN), which is affiliated to the Malta Youth Football Association.[9] The club's youth sector may also be considered as one of the most successful organisations of its type on the Island; not only has it produced a number of some of the finest footballers, but it has also won a number of league titles organised by the Association. The following are some of the major honours won by FFCN:

06 / 07 UNDER 14 Knock out competition

• U/14 League Champions – twice
• U/16 League Champions – six times, four of which in a row, 1993 to 1997
• U/18 League Champions – six times, four of which in a row, 1996 to 2000

Today all the major six Premiership clubs in Malta have at least two players forming part of their squad, which have been raised by the Floriana Youth Nursery.

During their history Floriana had two main rivals Sliema Wanderers and neighbors Valletta.[4] The rivalry against Sliema is very old but today has lost much of its legacy.[4] The rivalry was at its peak from 1910 and till the late 1970s when the two sides dominated the Maltese football scene.[4] Football hooliganism between supporters and direct conflicts were something usual.[4]

Today the rivalry has declined. Recently Floriana won the 20th FA Trophy against Sliema. This triggered again the rivalry between both clubs as Floriana won 9 finals in this Cup Competition against The Blues. [10]

The rivalry against Valletta City is still alive.[10] The fact that the two cities are near each other's the rivalry continues to persist and it is one of the most classic derbies in Maltese football.[10] The matches between the two sides always attract big crowds to the stadium and the fans treat these clashes as cup finals.[10]

Floriana' s official colors at the beginning of the century were green and red quartered shirts with black shorts.[4] Later on these were replaced with Green and white striped shirts and white shorts.[4] These colors were adopted after a game played at the Floriana Parade Ground against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.[4] This regiment of the British army was stationed at Floriana.[4] The two sides played three times against each other in 1904–05.[4] The Fusiliers won the first two games while the third one ended all square.[4]

A fourth game was organized between the two sides and this time Floriana won 2–1.[4] As a symbol of friendship, the players swapped their shirts.[4] From that moment onwards, Floriana Football Club adopted the colors of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, which are the green and white stripes and white shorts.[4] The Florianites are still called 'Ta' l-Irish' meaning 'The Irish'.[4] In the early 1920s which went something like this:[4]

Tal-Irish minn dejjem ħadid,
Jagħmel li jrid, deni jew ġid.

In plain English, this translates as 'The Irish are always as strong as metal; they decide if to inflict harm or not'.[4]

As of 15 January 2020[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Andrea Cassar 5 DF Moustapha Beye 6 DF Enzo Ruiz 7 MF Francisco Silva 8 MF Clyde Borg 9 FW Kristian Keqi 10 MF Ulisses Arias 11 MF Brandon Paiber 12 GK Ini Etim Akpan 14 MF Stefano D'Agostino 15 DF Isaac Galea

No. Position Player 16 MF Bradley Sciberras 17 DF Jurgen Pisani 20 MF Matías García 21 FW Augusto Cáseres 22 DF Alexander Cini 23 DF Kurt Theuma 24 GK Justin Spiteri 77 DF Alejandro Garzia 94 DF Ryan Camenzuli 99 FW Tiago Adan Fonseca

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 32 DF Edward Herrera (at Sirens until 30 June 2020) — MF Gaston Cesani (at Sirens until 30 June 2020) — FW Romarinho (at Sirens until 30 June 2020)

No. Position Player — DF Neil Spiteri (at St. Lucia until 30 June 2020) — FW Daniel Agius (at St. Lucia until 30 June 2020)