From the very start of Maltese football, local clubs took every opportunity to leave our shores and play a game or two abroad.
Travelling facilities in those days were still primitive. Therefore, the Maltese restricted their excursions to Tunis, Tripoli or sometimes, to nearby Sicily.
The Second World War, however, interrupted these foreign adventures but when the hostilities were over the Maltese were quick to pack their bags and resume their travels.
In April 1948, Floriana FC became the first Maltese club after the war to go on tour. They took part in the Raoul Bonan Tournament in Tunisia.
The tournament was organised by the Jewish club Unione Sportive Tunesianne (UST) and the Arab club L-Esperance Sportive Tunesianne. The champions of Corsica, Athletique Club Ajaccio, were also invited to take part in the tournament.
To make sure that one of the local clubs reached the final, the promoters decided to pit the two home teams against each other in the semi-finals.
In the first game, played on Saturday April 23, 1948, L-Esperance beat UST by an own goal.
Before the start of the match between Floriana and Ajaccio, the band of the 4th Battalion of the Zouaves played the Bey of Tunis anthem, the God Save the King and the Marsellaise while the teams captains, Leli Zammit and Costa hoisted the Maltese flag, the Union Jack and the Bey of Tunis flags.
The game was a very keen affair. After only seven minutes, inside-forward Marcaggia robbed Zammit of the ball and beat goalkeeper Burke with a hard shot which hit the underside of the bar before going into the net.
This early goal had a positive effect on the Corsicans and they kept up the pressure but Floriana soon came into the picture.
Spurred on by the vociferous support of the Maltese community, they attacked in numbers until the 30th minute when their efforts were finally rewarded.
Charlie Azzopardi took in his stride a defence-splitting pass from Lolly Borg and slammed the ball into the net to equalise.
Floriana redoubled their efforts and five minutes from half-time, Lolly Borg hit a shot past goalkeeper Federici via the upright.
In the second period Ajaccio came out. They started to use their superior weight which upset the young Ajax players.
They maintained their pressure which led to an equaliser on the hour. This goal secured the Corsicans a place in the final as, although the game ended in a draw, they scored the first goal.
Fine performance
The next day Floriana met Unione Sportive in the third place match. The game ended in a 5-2 victory for Floriana.
The Greens produced a splendid display of football which delighted the large crowd present.
Charlie Azzopardi scored a hat-trick while the other goals came from Victor Farrugia and Pullu Demanuele.
UST’s scorers were Murdokk, from the penalty spot, and Chemla.
Later on during that season, the Combined RMA XI also enjoyed a successful tour of Tunisia.
The RMA XI, made up entirely of Maltese players, played against UST and L-Esperance.
On June 6, 1948 they beat UST 5-2 with goals from Leli Attard, Gejtu Sacco, Salvinu Schembri, Scifo and Harold Herbert.
Two days later, the Maltese regiment drew 4-4 with Esperance. This time, the scorers were Salvinu Schembri (2), Sunny Borg Cardona, and Ġużi Lofaro who converted a penalty
These two tours brought to an end a very successful season in which Maltese football re-established its links with the rest of the European football fraternity.