The 1944-45 season opened a new era in the history of Association Football in Malta.
During the close season, the MFA made careful preparations to launch their plan of District Representation. Rules were amended and changes in the composition of the Council were carried out.
The MFA proposed to run a league with three divisions. Only one team from each district was allowed to play in each section.
In addition, a league for Minors teams was proposed. However, despite all the careful planning things did not go as expected.
The attempt by the MFA to take in its hands full control of the game led to a serious conflict with the stadium management which dragged on for many weeks.
When the dispute was finally resolved the league was started.
Since it was late in the season, the competition was held on a short format between only four teams.
The football-hungry public attended the league matches in their thousands but the competition which really captured the imagination of the public was the Anglo Maltese Minors League which was organised by Carmelo Scicluna at the Stadium.
This competition was held for four consecutive seasons before it was replaced by the Minors Football League which was organised by the MFA.
Scicluna’s championship, however, did great service to Maltese football because it introduced to the local game some of its finest footballers of the post-war era.
The start of the Anglo Maltese Minors League coincided with the birth of Floriana Ajax, perhaps the most famous team in the history of Maltese football.
In 1944, a group of talented youngsters from Floriana were moulded into a formidable team by their mentor Frankie Tabone.
The team was an instant success. Their fame began to spread and soon ‘the Ajax’ were on everyone’s lips.
The team entered for the Anglo Maltese Minors competitions finishing runners-up in the league and reaching the semi-finals of the cup competition.
The following season they improved beyond recognition.
Teamwork was the secret of their success. Great diligence was exerted in that direction.
Team talks
Future opponents were watched by all the members of the team.
Two days before a match, a lecture was given in which tactics were decided.
After the match, they were brought together again to discuss their failings and mistakes. Discipline was enforced and there were no exceptions. These things are the norm these days but in that era they were unheard of in Malta even in the First Division.
In 1945-46, they won the AMFL Championship and just missed the double when, in the final, they were beaten by Birkirkara Celtic 1-0.
The following season they went one better winning the Minor League and Cup double.
Only Valletta Swifts and Valletta Minors put up any sort of challenge to the Ajax. Otherwise they hardly exerted themselves in the League.
That season they also played a number of prestigious charity matches against older and stronger opposition but again their teamwork always proved superior.
In pouring rain at Tigne Football Ground they defeated the Royal Artillery Under 20’s 2-1 and in another match on another rainy day they defeated the Army Ordinance Corps 10-3.
In three seasons, Ajax played 104 matches, winning 88, drawing 10 and losing six. They scored 368 goals and conceded 53.
During this glorious period, they won 31 trophies.