Sliema's withdrawal delays start of league

The Malta Football Association yesterday put back the start of its Women's League for next Wednesday after Sliema Wanderers pulled out of the competition.

A Malta FA statement said that Sliema's late withdrawal forced the local football governing body to revise the fixtures for the women's championship which will now be contested by eight teams, including newcomers Qormi FC.

The league was originally scheduled to start next Sunday but the MFA statement said that the first league programme will now take place on September 21, Independence Day, in order to give the participating clubs enough time to adapt to the new fixtures' sequence.