St. George's F.C.

For football clubs with a similar name, see Saint George (disambiguation).

St. George's Football Club,^[2] is a Maltese football club from the city of Cospicua in the Mediterranean island of Malta, believed to be the oldest club on the island. They are currently playing in the Maltese National Amateur League, and is popularly claimed to be the pioneers of Maltese civilian football.^{[citation needed]}

St. George's

Full name	St. George's Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Pioneers
Founded	1890; 133 years ago (1890)
Ground	Centenary Stadium, Malta
Capacity	2,000
Manager	Maurice Pace
League	National Amateur League
2021–22	Maltese Challenge League, Group A, 11th (relegated) )^[1]
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

The oldest known photograph of the club, taken in 1894 after defeating Floriana F.C. to become Unofficial Civilian Champions.

History

During the 1880s, a group of Maltese youngsters was watching English soldiers playing football at the Verdala Barracks; an officer gave the young Maltese a ball and that was the start of the game on the island. They formed the first football club in Malta and named it Santa Margherita; two other clubs emerged soon after: St. Andrews and St. George's. The three clubs in Cospicua merged in 1890 to form one club, holding on to the St. George's name.^[3]

During the first years of the 20th century, they became Civilian Champions. The best season for the Cospicua team was 1916–17 during which St. George's F.C. won the 'double' by being crowned League champions and Knock Out Cousis Shield winners. One of the most notable players of St. George's was Emmanuel Balolu Busuttil, the only player to captain the St. George's side to their only championship in the 1916–17 season. One of the most notable matches St. Georges played in their history was the 1965–66 the old second division decider against Qormi at the old Mannuel Island, a match that saw the biggest crowd of that season in all the MFA competitions. The match ended with a 2–1 score line in favour of St. Georges. From the corner flag, Zambula kicked the ball without anybody touching it straight into the nearest upright.

Achievements

• Maltese Premier League Winners

1916–17

• Maltese Premier League Runners-up

1913–14, 1917–18, 1929–30, 1939–40

• Maltese FA Trophy Finalists

1936–37, 1949–50

• Cousis Shield

1916–17, 1926–27

• Maltese First Division Champions

1991–92, 2005–06

• Division 2 Champions

1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1973–74, 2018–19

• Division 2 Knock-Out Winners

1958–59, 1971–72, 1973––74

• Division 2 Knock-Out Finalists

1953–54

• Maltese Second Division Champions

1987–88, 1996–97, 2003–04

• Second & Third Division Knock-Out Winners

1987–88

• Second & Third Division Knock-Out Finalists

1999–2000

• Maltese Third Division Champions

2002-02

• Division 2 Sons of Malta Cup Winners

1971–72, 1973–74

• Christmas Cup Winners

1939–40

Current squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   MLT Andre Spiteri — Def   MLT Nicholas Gauci — FW   MLT Nick borg — FW   MLT Ryan Micallef — FW   NGA Lawrence chidozie — Mid   MLT Gianluca Sultana (C) — Mid   MLT Ryan Sammut — Def/W   MLT Zack. Bowman — At/Mid   VEN Rafael de Fax — Def/Mid   JAM Ricardo Martin — GK   MLT Levi Saliba — Mid   MLT Loumar Cutajar (AsC) — Att   MLT Ryan Cutajar — Att   JPN Kouta Suemetsu — Mid   MLT Hili Aaron — Wing   MLT Jeanalesi Spiteri — Def   MLT Christian Magro — Mid   MLT Matthew Xuereb — Def   MLT Jose Alejandro Sorza — GK   MLT Brian Schiavone — Mid   MLT Antoine Borg — Def   MLT Irvin Abela — Def   MLT Dillon Pace

See also

• Club of Pioneers

References

1. "Summary - National Amateur League - Malta - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway".
2. Cassar Pullicino, J. (1956). "Social Aspects of Maltese Nicknames" (PDF). Scientia. 22 (2): 92.
3. . Archived from geocities.com on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2011.

External links

• Official website