Balzan Football Club is a Maltese football club from the village of Balzan that competes in the Maltese Premier League, the top tier of Maltese football. The club was founded as Balzan Youths in 1937 and has been playing in the top division since 2010. They were renamed Balzan FC in June 2012.[1]
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| Full name | Balzan Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1937 (as Balzan Youths) | ||
| President | Anton Tagliaferro | ||
| Head coach | Dave Rogers | ||
| League | Maltese Premier League | ||
| 2023–24 | Maltese Premier League, 8th of 14 | ||
| Website | balzanfc1937 | ||
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Balzan has qualified for the UEFA Europa League for five consecutive seasons (2015–16 to 2019–20). The club finished as runners-up in the Malta Premier League in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons and were finalists of the 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy, which they lost on penalties to Sliema Wanderers after a goalless draw in the regular time. In May 2019, the club finally won its first major honour, the 2018–19 Maltese FA Trophy, after defeating Valletta on penalties in the final.[2]
Players
editFirst-team squad
edit- As of 21 August 2024[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club facilities
editThe club's Administration Building 'Solerville' is located at Main Street, Balzan. A bar and garden restaurant on the ground floor are open to the public. The club's training facilities, located at Robert Mifsud Bonnici Street, Lija, include a clubhouse and a full-size pitch with synthetic turf. The clubhouse includes a conference room, a bar and a gymnasium and was officially opened on 13 March 2011. From September 2015, Balzan teams also commenced training at St Aloysius' College ground, after the ground underwent a major upgrade.
In 2019, Balzan FC started the construction of an additional two-storey clubhouse at its Lija ground which feature additional changing room facilities, as well as accommodation for visiting teams. The building was completed in late 2021.
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St Aloysius' College ground -
"Solerville" -
Training centre
Honours
edit
- Maltese FA Trophy
- Winners: 2018–19
- Maltese Second Division
- Winners: 2008–09
European record
edit
All results (home and away) list Balzan's goal tally first.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Željezničar
|
0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Neftçi
|
0–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Videoton
|
3−3 | 0−2 | 3−5 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q | Keşla
|
4−1 | 1−2 | 5−3 |
| 2Q |  Slovan Bratislava
|
2–1 | 1−3 | 3−4 | ||
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Domžale
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3–4 | 0–1 | 3–5 |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1Q | Domžale
|
1–3 (a.e.t.) | 4–1 | 5–4 |
| 2Q |  Neman Grodno
|
0−0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
- Notes
- 1Q: First qualifying round
- 2Q: Second qualifying round
List of managers
edit
Paul Barbara (1989–90)- Jimmy Briffa (1990–93)
- Alberto Cristiano (1993–94)
- Ronnie Cocks (1994–95)
- France Scicluna (1995–97)
- Joe Attard (1997–98)
- Stephen Azzopardi (1998–02)
Fatos Daja (2002–03)- Jimmy Briffa (2003–05)
- Mario Monreal (2005–06)
- Charles Borg Sant (2006–07)
- Alfred Attard (2007–08)
- Ivan Zammit (2008–13)
- David Carabott (2009–10)
Riccardo Tumiatti (2013)- Jesmond Zerafa (2013–14)
- Oliver Spiteri (2014–17)
Marko Mićović (2017–19)- Jacques Scerri (2019–20)
Mark Miller (2020–21)- Paul Zammit (2021–22)
- Oliver Spiteri (2022–2024)[4]
- Dave Rogers (2024–present)
References
edit- ^ "Club History". Balzan FC. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (18 May 2019). "Effiong scores four as Balzan win first-ever FA Trophy". Times of Malta. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Senior Team – Season 2023/2024". Balzan F.C. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (5 June 2022). "Balzan FC appoint Oliver Spiteri as new first-team coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
External links
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