2015–16 Maltese Premier League
# 2015–16 Maltese Premier League

The 2015–16 Maltese Premier League was the 101st season of the Maltese Premier League. The season began on 21 August 2015 and concluded on 30 April 2016. Hibernians were the defending champions, having won their 11th title the previous season.

The Maltese Premier League consisted of three rounds, for a total of 33 matches per team, with the first two rounds played between 21 August 2015 and 14 February 2016, and the third and final round played from 20 February to 30 April 2016. After the end of the second round, the points earned were halved.

## Format

The format for the 2015–16 Maltese Premier League was the same as the previous season. First all teams meet twice in a round-robin format for a total of 22 matches. After the two first rounds all teams advanced to a second phase where half of the points from the first two rounds were carried over and teams played each other once. These rules were changed before the previous season after a decision not to split the teams for a championship round and relegation round.

## Venues

| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola | Hamrun |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium | Victor Tedesco Stadium |
| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Capacity: 16,997 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,968 | Capacity: 1,962 |

## Teams and stadiums

Pietà Hotspurs and Żebbuġ Rangers were relegated after they finished eleventh and twelfth, respectively, the previous season. Pembroke Athleta, the 2014–15 First Division champion, made their debut in the Premier League. Runner-up St. Andrews returned to the highest level for the first time since the 1993–94 season.

| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Balzan | Balzan | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Birkirkara | Birkirkara | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
| Floriana | Floriana | Independence Arena | 3,000 |
| Hibernians | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 8,000 |
| Mosta | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
| Naxxar Lions | Naxxar | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |
| Pembroke Athleta | Pembroke | Sirens Stadium | 1,500 |
| Qormi | Qormi | Qormi Ground | 1,000 |
| Sliema Wanderers | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| St. Andrews | St. Andrew's | Luxol Sports Ground | 800 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Valletta | Valletta | Centenary Stadium | 2,000 |

Source: Scoresway

## First round

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Valletta | 22 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 53 |
| 2 | Hibernians | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 53 | 25 | +28 | 50 |
| 3 | Balzan | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 45 |
| 4 | Birkirkara | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 42 |
| 5 | Floriana | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 39 |
| 6 | Tarxien Rainbows | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 37 | 17 | +20 | 37 |
| 7 | Mosta | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 30 |
| 8 | Pembroke Athleta | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 25 |
| 9 | Sliema Wanderers | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 31 | 36 | −5 | 24 |
| 10 | Naxxar Lions | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 22 | 54 | −32 | 14 |
| 11 | Qormi | 22 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 19 | 49 | −30 | 9 |
| 12 | St. Andrews | 22 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 66 | −52 | 5 |

### Results (matches 1–22)

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | HIB | MOS | NXX | PEM | QOR | SLI | StA | TAR | VAL |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Balzan | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Birkirkara | 4–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Floriana | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| Hibernians | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–4 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Mosta | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–4 | — | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Naxxar Lions | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–7 | 0–1 | — | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 1–2 |
| Pembroke Athleta | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Qormi | 0–5 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 1–2 | — | 3–6 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 6–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 |
| St. Andrews | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 |
| Valletta | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | — |

## Second round

All teams advanced to the second round. Teams kept their records from the first round, but their points from the first round were halved and rounded. Teams played each other once.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Valletta (C) | 33 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 69 | 27 | +42 | 53 | Qualification for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League |
| 2 | Hibernians | 33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 85 | 33 | +52 | 49 | Qualification for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 33 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 64 | 29 | +35 | 47 | Qualification for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League |
| 4 | Balzan | 33 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 69 | 33 | +36 | 44 | Qualification for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League |
| 5 | Floriana | 33 | 18 | 4 | 11 | 60 | 42 | +18 | 39 | |
| 6 | Tarxien Rainbows | 33 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 59 | 31 | +28 | 35 | |
| 7 | Sliema Wanderers | 33 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 49 | 51 | −2 | 30 | |
| 8 | Pembroke Athleta | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 24 | |
| 9 | Mosta | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 22 | |
| 10 | St. Andrews (O) | 33 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 32 | 90 | −58 | 13 | Qualification for the Relegation Play-Offs |
| 11 | Naxxar Lions (R) | 33 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 29 | 95 | −66 | 12 | Relegation to the 2016–17 Maltese First Division |
| 12 | Qormi (R) | 33 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 26 | 80 | −54 | 9 | Relegation to the 2016–17 Maltese First Division |

* ↑ Sliema Wanderers would have qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League by winning the 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.

### Results (matches 23–33)

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | HIB | MOS | NXX | PEM | QOR | SLI | StA | TAR | VAL |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Balzan | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 8–0 | 2–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Birkirkara | — | — | 0–1 | 2–1 | 6–3 | — | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | — | — |
| Floriana | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 4–0 | 2–3 | — | — | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Hibernians | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | — | 3–0 | — | — | 6–0 | 1–1 | — | — | — |
| Mosta | 0–3 | — | 2–4 | — | — | — | 3–5 | — | — | 1–1 | — | 1–2 |
| Naxxar Lions | — | 0–4 | — | 0–8 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | — | 0–3 | — |
| Pembroke Athleta | — | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 3–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–4 | — |
| Qormi | 0–3 | — | 1–3 | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–4 | — | 0–2 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 3–3 | — | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | — | — | — | 3–1 | — | 0–3 |
| St. Andrews | — | 1–3 | — | 1–4 | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | — | — | 2–3 | — |
| Tarxien Rainbows | — | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | — | 6–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — |
| Valletta | — | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 4–0 | 2–0 | — | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

A play-off match took place between St. Andrews, the tenth-placed team from the Premier League and Senglea Athletic, the third-placed team from the First Division for a place in the 2016–17 Maltese Premier League.

## Top goalscorers

    As of 12 April 2016

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Lydon Micallef | Balzan | 17 |
| 2 | Alfred Effiong | Balzan | 16 |
| 3 | Mario Fontanella | Floriana | 15 |
| 4 | Gilmar Da Silva Ribeiro | Hibernians | 14 |
| 4 | Federico Falcone | Valletta | 14 |
| 5 | Michael Mifsud | Valletta | 12 |
| 5 | Abdelkarim Nafti | Valletta | 12 |
| 5 | Jorge Da Silva Pereira | Hibernians | 12 |

Source: MFA Archived 24 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine

