During the summer of 1951, the Birkirkara club changed its name from Birkirkara United to the more representative Birkirkara FC.
Success for this district, among the largest in Malta, was long overdue but 1951-52 proved to be their season.
The enthusiasm of the Birkirkara supporters knew no bounds and this ensured that the second division league that season was one of the best in many years.
In fact, the competition developed into a fierce fight for promotion between Birkirkara and Żebbuġ Rangers.
Both teams showed their intentions from the start as they went on a winning run until they met each other on December 9, 1951 in what turned out to be the deciding match of the championship.
This was certainly the game of the season, at least as far as the second division was concerned. Trained to peak fitness by player-coach Frankie Tabone, Birkirkara were in their best form. They dominated the game from start to finish.
When, early in the second half, Birkirkara opened the scoring, there was no doubt about the outcome of the match.
Birkirkara’s tough half-backs, Caruana, Theuma and Briffa, continued to supply excellent passes to their forwards. They kept the Żebbuġ defence under constant pressure and the only surprise was that they did not score their second goal until three minutes from the end.
At last, the Rangers’ defence was breached and Attard beat the goalkeeper to set the Birkirkara supporters’ minds at rest.
The Stripes still had three matches left to play before the end of the competition. They made no mistake and at the end they clinched promotion for the first time in their history without dropping a single point.
This was to be the first of many promotions and relegations for Birkirkara in a long and turbulent period which characterised the early days of the club.
For many years, Birkirkara were too strong for the second division but not good enough to retain a place in the top flight. This, of course, changed dramatically since the 1990s when, at last, Birkirkara FC took their rightful place among the elite of Maltese football.
In the 1951-52 Division Two Cup competition, Birkirkara were firm favourites to add the trophy to their league title. The Stripes did not hide their ambition of crowning a very memorable season by winning the double.
Things seemed to be going according to plan when they ousted Rabat Reserves, Żebbuġ and St George’s Reserves to book a place in the final against Sliema Reserves.
This game attracted a huge crowd to the Stadium on the morning of June 15, 1952.
As expected, most of the enthusiasm came from the Birkirkara side of the ground but this time the Yellow-Reds found their match in the talented Sliema youngsters.
The game was tough and incident-filled but it was played in the best sporting spirit. At the end, the Blues won 2-1 to win the cup and inflict Birkirkara’s first and only defeat of the season.