There are many traditions in our football, some of which go back to the earliest days of the game in Malta.
One long-standing tradition concerns Floriana FC's deep-rooted association with De Vilhena Band Club. It is a known fact that the two clubs share the same premises but few know how this came about.
As far as we could ascertain, Floriana first put up shop at 63, Strada Conservatorio. This was about 1905. Later on they moved to 25, Market Street, in Floriana.
In those days, the unofficial crown of Maltese champions was held by St George's. The Saints' exploits against the best Services teams on the island made them the 'darlings' of Maltese football. However, between 1909 and 1913 Floriana won three leagues without dropping a single point and conceded only one goal. This occurred in the abandoned match against Valletta United in 1913.
During this period, the 'Irish' also won two cup-tie competitions and a number of other cups from charity matches played against Services teams.
These successes made Floriana the envy of all the other clubs, especially their old rivals from Cospicua. Floriana owed their triumphs to a formidable defence. Many times the Greens were put under pressure by their opponents but their rearguard, led by the indomitable Ruggieru Friggieri, never let them down, and time after time the team left the field victorious and with their goal intact.
The cry of 'lucky Irish' was heard many times at the Athletic Ground and the Mile End and some of their frustrated opponents even went so far as to blame St Publius for the Greens' invincibility. Many claimed that Floriana had their patron saint guarding their posts!
As if to confirm these rumours, many of Floriana's successes were obtained during the week leading to the feast of St Publius, held towards the end of the local football season.
After a time even Floriana started to believe that Saint Publius was protecting their team.
Tom Hedley, when writing in il-Hajja on the occasion of Floriana's 75th anniversary, relates that in 1911-12 when the league match against St George's was abandoned with Floriana leading 1-0, the Saints' supporters on their way home stopped in front of a statue of St Publius at Marsa and started pelting it with stones.
When the Floriana football committee heard about this incident, they met with the committee of the De Vilhena Band Club and together the two clubs decided to make up for this blasphemy by celebrating the coming feast in style.
Thousands of supporters, wearing green and white scarves and ribbons in their hats, marched behind the band, singing and chanting slogans.
The crowd included many supporters from towns and villages which did not yet have a football team and who adopted the 'Greens' as their own.
All trophies won by Floriana were exhibited at the band club and many paid a visit to the club to count and admire the trophies and exchange memories with other enthusiasts. This was the start of a long association between the two Floriana clubs.
Soon after, Floriana FC moved in with the band club and the tradition of exhibiting the trophies during the feast of St Publius has been continued up to this day. Since that time, the number of trophies won by Floriana has increased ten-fold making the trophy room at De Vilhena the envy of all the football clubs in Malta.
Meanwhile, Floriana's alliance with St Publius still seems to be going strong. This season, Floriana beat Marsa FC 5-1 in a crucial relegation encounter on the eve of the feast of their patron saint.