In August 1982, the Malta FA Council decided to revamp the old Independence Cup and reached an agreement with Mid-Med Bank, Bank of Valletta and Lombard Bank for the sponsorship of the new Euro Challenge Cup competition.
It was a lucrative deal for those days as the sponsors agreed to provide the winners' trophy plus an annual financial contribution of Lm1,200 (€2,796) for three years. This sponsorship deal was seen as groundbreaking at the time.
The first edition was played at Marsa in the summer of 1982. Żurrieq and Hibernians kicked off the new season on Wednesday, August 29, with a 1-1 draw.
The second game between Żurrieq and Sliema Wanderers also ended in a draw. Żurrieq should have won the match handsomely but wasted too many chances. Luck, however, was against them and the 0-0 draw left them with no chance of winning the competition.
The final match of the tournament, between Sliema and Hibs, was the best of the three. It was an interesting affair full of fast, flowing football. Both teams created good scoring chances but only one was converted. Ritchie Aquilina floated a perfect free-kick into the Hibs' penalty area and Oliver Losco rose above friend and foe to head home a superb goal.
Thus, Sliema became the first team to write their name on the new trophy.
The Blues could not have had a better start to the new season. It seemed at the time that this Sliema team would go places but this was only an illusion. In the end, 1982-83 proved to be the darkest season in the history of the famous club.
Their first major upset that year came in the Cup Winners' Cup when, at Vetch Park, they were thrashed 12-0 by Swansea City. It was the worst ever defeat in the Blues' long history. Things did not improve back home. The Welshmen trounced the Wanderers 5-0 for a 17-0 aggregate win!
During the summer of 1982, the MFA also laid the pitch of the National Stadium for the coming season. The ground staff, however, were still inexperienced and learning through their mistakes. The turf was resown but when Hibernians met Widzew Lodz, of Poland, in the first round of the Champions Cup, the surface was hard and bumpy.
The Poles were not the least affected by the poor state of the pitch. Their close passing game seemed more suited to the prevailing conditions than the swinging-ball tactics of the Maltese champions. Indeed, Widzew looked more at home at Ta' Qali than the Paolites, and after only half-an-hour the game was already won and lost.
A free-kick by Filipczal and another goal by Teolinski completely demoralised Hibs for whom Ġużi Xuereb scored a consolation goal late on.
Hibs played much better in Poland. In the first half, they took the game to their opponents and it was no fluke when after 16 minutes, Xuereb opened the scoring.
Ten minutes later, the referee awarded the Poles a dubious penalty from which Grebosz equalised. The Maltese champions were pegged back in defence but their resistance was breached seven minutes into the second half when Matusiak put the hosts in front. Two minutes from time, the same player completed the scoring.
Żurrieq, the holders of the FA Trophy, were drawn against Hajduk Split in the first round of the Cup Winners' Cup. Hajduk were familiar faces in Malta, this being their sixth visit to the islands.
The famous Hajduk of 1923 are part of the local football folklore. Since then, the club from Split toured Malta on three other occasions and twice met Maltese teams in European competitions.
Żurrieq adopted a defensive plan based mainly on the offside trap. However, they were too nervous and inexperienced. They tried hard but could not stop Hajduk taking a 4-1 lead for the second leg of the competition.
In Split, Żurrieq played with more determination but an own goal by T. Bonnici broke the team's spirit.
The Yugoslavs raised the tempo of their game to fire in three more goals through Jerolimov and Salov (2).