Malta club keep fingers crossed on venue plans

Article posted by Coliseum, September 2^nd, 2024

Image: Floriana FC

The Maltese professional football club Floriana F.C. recently announced plans for a 4,000-seat stadium to sit in the Independence Arena in Floriana, Malta (country in Europe).

‘independent.com.mt’ stated that the above plans were revealed by the club’s President Johann Said at a presser held recently to announce the club’s plans for the 2024-2025 seasons and he hoped that a new home for the top-flight would see the light of day this time.

This is not the first time that the football club has unveiled plans to develop the land and build a proper football facility. The club launched plans in 2010 but things came to naught while the former President of the club Riccardo Gaucci had also drawn out plans to develop a stadium in the area as well but in vain.

In 2016, Gaucci had expressed concerns over feet-dragging over the venue redevelopment application process. At that point of time, he had informed that he was working on the venue project for three years trying to get a nod from the relevant authorities to build a new home for the top-flight club.

Gaucci stepped down as the Floriana F.C. President in October 2020 citing that the arena project not moving forward was one of the main reasons behind his decision.

The Floriana Football Club is a Maltese professional football club in the town of Floriana (Malta) that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League (the highest level of professional football in Malta). Floriana has won 26 national leagues and 21 FA trophies. It is also the only team from Malta to have qualified from the qualifying rounds to the first round proper of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League in the 1993-1994 seasons.

The Independence Arena (also known as Ix-Xagħra tal-Furjana) was a multiuse stadium in Floriana, Malta. The stadium has fallen into a state of disrepair and is now used as a parking lot. The stadium was used mostly for football matches and was the home training pitch of the Floriana F.C. The stadium used to hold 3,000 people.

The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football Cup competition that takes place in Malta.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus, Armenia and Israel. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The UEFA Champions League is an annual club association football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by the top-division European clubs deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format and a single leg final.

‘independent.com.mt’ further stated that Said told members that central to his vision for the club is achieving self-sustainability and building a 4,000 seat stadium in the heart of Floriana.

The club informed that the project will be done in collaboration with the investor MIG.

The MIG Trade is owned by the Dizz Group entrepreneur Diane Izzo who has long sponsored the club in the hope that the venue project will materialize one fine day.

The Dizz Group of Companies Limited is a company registered in Malta. The company is owned by Diane and her husband Karl Izzo. The Group’s core activity is that of importing and retailing of fashion wear by means of its franchise agreements, warehouse stores and retail outlets.

The club, through its Secretary Jacques Grima, also announced that it was now formally recognized as a voluntary organization which was described as a “pivotal step towards securing the land title for the club and further solidifying the club’s foundation for future growth and stability”.

The ix-Xagħra tal-Furjana – also colloquially known as the Independence Arena – has had various uses in the past, including as training ground for the British Military while Malta was still a Crown colony, and as a football stadium afterwards.

Notably, it was also the venue of Malta’s Independence celebrations on September 21st, 1964 and it was the location where the Maltese flag was hoisted for the first time – hence the facility got the name ‘Independence Arena’.

The arena has not been used as a football venue for a long time – in recent years it is being used as a car park.

Several football clubs have announced plans for new stadiums but actually bringing those plans to fruition depends on the clubs being granted commercial licenses from a dedicated Commission – a Commission which many clubs have complained takes far too long to arrive at any kind of a decision. He wondered why a Commission was appointed at all if they could not take decisions.

A bitter Gaucci had then said in 2016, “For me, not arriving at any decision is a bit of a mockery towards Maltese sport because even after submitting all the necessary papers the Commission kept the venue project hanging fire. I cannot continue in this manner.”

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