Siġġiewi F.C.

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Siġġiewi F.C.
Full nameSiġġiewi Football Club
Nickname(s)Yellows
Founded1945; 79 years ago (1945), as Siġġiewi United F.C.
GroundSiġġiewi Sports Complex, Siġġiewi
PresidentMario Caruana
ManagerDavid Mifsud
LeagueNational Amateur League
2021–22National Amateur League, Group A, 7th

Siġġiewi F.C. is a football club from the village of Siġġiewi in Malta. Founded in 1945, it currently plays in the Maltese National Amateur League. Their home kit colours are red and yellow.

History[edit]

The first football team in Siggiewi was formed in 1945 by a group of amateurs, who used to play casual football in a field at Ta' Kandja.[1] Reggie Pace, Ninu Mallia and Freddie Curmi were the main promoters of the game.[1] Mr Emilio Camilleri, who had settled in the village during the war period and was an influential person within the circles of the Malta Football Association,[1] helped the team to be admitted in the third division of the Maltese Football League for the 1946–47 season.[2]

Siġġiewi's first ever match was a friendly match against Pioneer Corps in 1944. Siġġiewi won the match two-nil.[2] Siġġiewi made their competitive debut on 11 November 1945 in a match valid for the Anglo Maltese Minors Cup. Siġġiewi, who back then used to play in red shirts and white shorts, faced Vittoriosa Rovers and lost heavily by the score of five-nil.[2] Almost a year later, specifically on 13 October 1946, Siġġiewi debuted in the Maltese third division under the name Siġġiewi United. Siġġiewi faced Sliema Amateurs and the latter scored three goals without reply from Siġġiewi.[2] Siġġiewi United participated in the 1947–48 season, which ultimately was the last time the team played under that name.[2] Indeed, after sitting out the 1948–49 season,[2] Siġġiewi participated in the 1949–50 season, however this time under the current name of Siġġiewi F.C.[3]

The team continued to play in the Third Division for many years until, in 1970–71, they won one of the sections of the Third Division for the first time and were promoted to the Second Division. They won the Third Division again in 1973–74 and 1989–90. In the 1996–97 season, Siggiewi FC were promoted for the first time to the First Division, the second tier of the Maltese football league system. Siġġiewi plied their trade in the First Division for just two seasons, as they reverted to the lower divisions after 1998–99, where they have remained ever since.

Mr Karmenu Vassallo was the first president of the club, and he retained the post for the next eight consecutive years.[1] Mr Nicholas Pace was chosen as the first secretary.[1] Thereafter, these postes were held by several other persons. For instance, Gozitan-born Mr Anthony Buttigieg, served as president for 23 years and in 1987 he was nominated honorary president for life. Mr Reggie Pace and the well-known sports personality Mr John Debattista, both occupied the post of secretary for many years.[1]

In 1972, Siġġiewi FC managed to obtain on lease the land at Hesri, where the present Siggiewi Ground now stands.[1]

Siġġiewi Sports Complex[edit]

As part of the MFA programme of assisting member clubs and affiliated associations to improve their facilities, the association's President Norman Darmanin Demajo inaugurated a synthetic pitch at Siġġiewi which will serve the locality's footballers, including the youths and youngsters in the nursery, in their development. The synthetic pitch was inaugurated during the 2010/2011 season.

Present for the ceremony were Siġġiewi F.C President and Committee, Robert Musumeci (former mayor of Siġġiewi) and Clyde Puli (former parliamentary secretary for youth and sport).

Youth sector[edit]

Siġġiewi is also the mother club of its nursery, the Siġġiewi Football Club Youth Nursery. The youth nursery, caters for children aged between 5 and 16 years, was established in 1992 and is affiliated with the Malta Youth Football Association. The youth nursery participates in the under-15 league organised by the Malta Youth FA.

Players[edit]

As of 31 January 2024[4]

Senior squad 2022–2024[edit]

Note: The same squad number may be used by more than one player. If that is the case, the last player who have used the number is assigned with it.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Malta MLT Leon Seisun
19 MF Malta MLT Ryan Farrugia
4 MF Malta MLT Andre Farrugia
28 GK Malta MLT Daylon Hili
2 MF Malta MLT Jake Davies (V/CPT)
GK Malta MLT Ryan Micallef
10 MF Malta MLT Shylon Vella
12 GK Malta MLT Gianluca Genovese
15 MF Malta MLT Lincoln Micallef (CPT)
26 MF Malta MLT Kieron Haber
23 DF Malta MLT Kane Cruz Camilleri
21 DF Malta MLT Tommy Debono
6 DF Malta MLT Clyde Borg (V/CPT)
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Malta MLT Tyrone Grech
11 FW Colombia COL Deison Cuero
16 DF Malta MLT Johann Zarb
25 FW Malta MLT Kyle Chircop
22 FW Ghana GHA Isaac Dankwah Ansanyi
5 DF Malta MLT Ian Darmanin
24 MF Malta MLT Dylan Attard
17 MF Malta MLT Matthew Farrugia
9 MF Malta MLT Miguel Busuttil
7 FW Malta MLT Kurt Borg
20 FW Malta MLT John Paul Delia
13 MF Malta MLT Kyle Spiteri
14 MF Malta MLT Diandre Grima

Club officials and coaching staff[edit]

Club officials[edit]

President Mario Caruana
Vice President Victor Camilleri
Secretary Robert J Camilleri
Assistant Secretary David Scicluna
Assistant Secretary Christopher Farrugia
Treasurer Josef Saliba
Assistant Treasurer Simon Cauchi
Team Manager Ryan Micallef
Kit Manager Matthew Deguara
Facilities Manager Mario Caruana
Media officer Andrea Costa
Nursery Chairperson Isabelle Spiteri
Nursery Secretary Mirana Agius Silvio
Nursery Treasurer James Spiteri
Nursery Assistant Secretary Graziella Sammut
Events Manager George Attard

Coaching staff[edit]

Senior Team Coach David Mifsud
Senior Team Assistant Coach Ryan Micallef
Team Manager Robert Camilleri
Under 21 Coach Simon Agius

Achievements[edit]

Club statistics and records[edit]

League and cup history[edit]

Season League Top Scorer Knockout/Cup Youths
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name Goals Div. Pos. Cup
1946–47 IIIB 6th 5 1 0 4 1 19 2 Did not participate
1947–48 IIIB 6th 5 0 0 5 1 18 0 Did not participate
1948–49 Did not participate
1949–50 IIIA 7th 7 1 0 6 5 24 2 First Round
1950–51 IIIA 7th 7 1 1 5 7 14 3 First Round
1951–52 IIIA 8th 7 0 0 7 4 25 0 First Round
1952–53 IIIB 8th 7 0 1 6 2 12 1 First Round
1953–54 IIIB 4th 7 3 1 3 7 9 7 First Round
1954–55 IIIB 7th 7 0 2 5 6 19 2 First Round
1955–56 IIIA 6th 7 2 1` 4 7 16 5
1956–57 IIIA 6th 7 1 1 5 3 12 3 First Round
1957–58 IIIB 7th 7 1 1 5 4 13 3
1958–59 IIIA 4th 7 3 1 3 2 6 7 First Round
1959–60 IIIA 6th 7 1 2 4 5 13 4 Semi-Final
1960–61 IIIB 5th 14 6 2 6 16 17 14 First Round
1961–62 IIIB 3rd 14 6 5 3 17 10 17 First Round
1962–63 IIIA 6th 14 4 1 9 10 19 9 Quarter-Final
1963–64 IIIA 4th 14 6 1 7 19 14 13 First Round
1964–65 IIIA 3rd 16 8 3 5 22 17 19 Quarter-Final
1965–66 IIIC 1st 10 9 1 0 20 4 19 Semi-Final
1966–67 IIIC 2nd 10 7 2 1 18 2 16 Semi-Final
1967–68 IIIB 3rd 10 5 4 1 15 3 13 First Round
1968–69 IIIC 5th 10 1 5 4 9 13 7 Quarter-Final
1969–70 IIIA 2nd 10 6 2 2 15 5 14 Semi-Final
1970–71 IIIA 1st 10 8 1 1 26 3 17 Quarter-Final
1971–72 II 8th 18 4 5 9 10 20 13 Quarter-Final
1972–73 II 10th 18 1 4 13 2 32 6 Preliminary Round
1973–74 IIIA 1st 16 10 5 1 20 5 25 Semi-Final
1974–75 II 9th 18 2 7 9 14 29 11 Quarter-Final
1975–76 IIIA 3rd 12 5 2 5 16 14 12 First Round
1976–77 IIIB 5th 12 3 4 5 5 9 10 First Round
1977–78 IIIA 6th 12 4 1 7 6 12 9 First Round
1978–79 IIIA 3rd 12 3 6 3 6 8 12 Preliminary Round
1979–80 IIIA 4th 8 3 2 3 6 4 8 Quarter-Final
1980–81 IIIB 4th 10 5 3 2 14 6 13 Quarter-Final
1981–82 IIIA 4th 10 5 2 3 15 9 12 First Round
1982–83 IIIA 4th 10 5 2 3 12 9 12 Quarter-Final
1983–84 IIIB 4th 14 5 3 6 12 10 13 Second Round
1984–85 IIIB 5th 12 3 5 4 12 14 11 First Round
1985–86 IIIA 2nd 12 6 3 3 22 8 15 Quarter-Final
1986–87 IIIA 3rd 12 5 2 5 18 21 12 Third Round
1987–88 IIIA 5th 12 4 0 8 18 18 8 First Round
1988–89 IIIB 2nd 14 12 1 1 43 5 25 Second Round
2000–01 3rd 12th 22 0 7 15 15 47 7 Malta Donald Buhagiar 6 Quarter-final Section C 2nd Quarter-final
2001–02 4th 11th 15 4 3 8 25 35 15 Malta Roderick Farrugia 10 First round Section B 4th Preliminary
2002–03 4th 14th 15 3 6 6 17 24 15 Malta Roderick Farrugia 4 First round Section B 8th First round
2003–04 4th 11th 15 3 4 18 15 24 13 Malta Pierre Spiteri 4 First round Section B 10th Preliminary
2004–05 4th 8th 16 6 5 5 26 21 23 Malta Pierre Spiteri 6 First round Section C 6th Quarter-final
2005–06 4th 7th 16 9 1 6 30 23 28 Malta Josef Micallef 12 First round Section C 4th Second round
2006–07 4th 10th 18 7 1 10 30 33 22 Malta Pierre Spiteri 10 First round Section C 1st Second round
2007–08 4th 7th 18 7 2 9 37 38 23 Malta Eman Ciappara 13 First round Section B 7th First round
2008–09 4th 4th 16 7 4 5 26 20 25 Malta Pierre Spiteri 9 First round Section B 9th First round
2009–10 4th 5th 18 8 2 8 33 37 26 Malta Jason Camilleri 17 First round Section C 9th Second round
2010–11 4th 1st^ 20 16 1 3 49 22 49 Malta Jason Camilleri 23 First round Section D 2nd Second round
2011–12 3rd 11th 26 7 6 13 31 51 27 Malta Roderick Farrugia 10 Third round Section C 9th First round
2012–13 3rd 8th 26 8 5 13 40 48 29 Malta Roderick Farrugia 13 Second round Section D 12th First round
2013–14 3rd 11th 26 8 4 14 36 56 28 Ivory Coast Mougnini Tape 8 Third round Section E 1st Second round
2014–15 3rd 7th 26 11 6 9 45 45 39 Ivory Coast Mougnini Tape 9 Fourth round Section D 9th Preliminary round
2015–16 3rd 6th 26 10 9 7 33 25 39 Malta Jason Camilleri 7 Second sound Section E 1st Second round
2016–17 3rd 6th 26 8 11 7 40 34 35 Malta Samuel Vella
Malta Jason Camilleri
Cameroon Didier Sohna
8 Third round Section D 5th First round
2017–18 3rd 5th 24 11 8 5 43 24 41 Malta Ian Montanaro 9 Third round Section D 6th First round
2018–19 3rd 13th 24 3 4 17 14 41 13 Serbia Marko Nikolic 6 Third round Section D 5th Second round
2019–220 4th 2nd 9 7 1 1 16 8 20 Malta Ronnie Celeste 6 Third round Section D 5th Second round

^ Siġġiewi, as winners of Section A, faced the winners of section B, Għargħur, in a play-off to determine the overall winners of the Third Division. Siġġiewi lost the match by three goals to two[5] and therefore ended as runners-up.

Player statistics – most appearances[edit]

# Name Position Years Total
1 Malta Eman Ciappara MF 1997–2022 300
2 Malta Jason Camilleri MF –2022 269
3 Malta Kim Buhagiar MF –2020 224
4 Malta Mark Camilleri FW –2018 215
5 Malta Pierre Spiteri FW −2013 201

Updated as at 1 April 2018.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Carmel Vella, SIĠĠIEWI (Città Ferdinand) - A Profile of History, Social Life and Traditions (Malta, 2002)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Carmel Baldacchino, Goal - The Official Encyclopaedia of the Malta Football Association; Volume 3 - The Good and the Lean Years (1936-1949) (Malta, 2014)
  3. ^ Carmel Baldacchino, Goal - The Official Encyclopaedia of the Malta Football Association; Volume 4 - The Fifties, a Period of Consolidation (1949-1959) (Malta, 2015)
  4. ^ "Squad – Siggiewi F.C. 2021/22". mfa.com.mt. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Gharghur Beat Siggiewi to win Third Division title". www.independent.com.mt. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Special occasion for 36-year-old club icon". www.takeaseat.org.mt. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.

Literature[edit]

  • Carmel Vella, SIGGIEWI (Città Ferdinand)- A Profile of History, Social Life and Traditions.

External links[edit]