'MFA League' - an ill-fated experiment

The 1965-66 football season was long and full of controversy.

First of all, it was played at the notorious ground of Manoel Island which was hardly suitable for football. The ground was vulnerable to all kinds of weather and the pitch was windswept, no matter in which direction the wind was blowing.

Inadequate facilities for spectators made the ground even more unpopular among the paying public. The biggest disadvantage of this venue, however, was the lack of security it provided.

All these setbacks made 1965-66 one of the most turbulent seasons in the history of Maltese football.

To make matters worse, 1965-66 seemed to have no ending. The 'Manoel Island season' as it became known, was kicked off by Floriana in September with their European Cup Winners' Cup match against Borussia Dortmund. The activities then continued non-stop, one after the other, right up to the hot summer month of June.

Sliema completed a hat-trick of championships at Manoel Island. Then, the MFA, as if to infuriate the owners of the Empire Stadium, shelved the Testaferrata Cup and re-introduced the old Scicluna Cup instead. This competition was also won by the Wanderers.

In 1966, the traditional Christmas Tourney was not held. Instead, the MFA re-introduced the Cassar Cup that was won by Valletta who beat Sliema 3-1 in the final.

The season seemed to drag on forever. The public soon became bored and lost interest.

The Maltese were more interested in the forthcoming World Cup in England than football in the strange conditions of Manoel Island. At this stage it would have been wiser for the MFA had it started the FA Trophy and wrapped up the season. Instead the Council decided to introduce a new competition.

In 1966-67, UEFA changed the Fairs Cities Cup from one involving cities which hosted trade fairs to one open to the runners-up and other top-placed teams in the national leagues of member countries.

The MFA immediately applied for a place in the competition. Anticipating a positive answer, the Council launched a new league competition, played on a one-round basis. The winner of the 'MFA League' would earn the right to represent Malta in the new European competition.

The new league got off to a rain-sodden start on March 6, 1966 and ended on April 24 with Valletta walking off the pitch within four minutes of the start of their match against Sliema.

It seemed that the ghosts of Manoel Island were deadset against anyone distrubing their peace and quiet. In the space of two days two other matches were abandoned.

On March 19, Birkirkara abandoned the game when playing against Valletta. The next day it was Floriana's turn to return home early after a free-for-all in the match against the Wanderers.

Coming less than four days after this fiasco, Valletta's controversial decision made true lovers of the game shake their heads in disgust at the depths to which the game had fallen.

This time the MFA Council took drastic action. Valletta were suspended until the end of the season and had to apply for re-election to the Third Division.

It was a harsh decision but one wonders why the MFA did not take the same action against Birkirkara and Floriana. The case created a lot of controversy and the MFA came under intense pressure.

At the end, the Council relented and Valletta were pardoned. The irony of it all was that it was all in vain. Malta's UEFA Cup application was not accepted and it was only in 1968-69 that Hibs became the first Maltese team to take part in the competition.