Floriana Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in the town of Floriana that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League. Considered one of the most supported and successful clubs in Maltese football, Floriana has won 27 national league titles (Maltese record) 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 UEFA Champions League, in the 1993–94 season.
History
Floriana Football Club was founded in 1894 with the inauguration of the football ground officiated by Queen Alexandra. The site was a cricket ground from 1890 until it was converted for football use. During that period, football in Malta was introduced by the British Servicemen who were stationed on the island, which was then a colony of the British Empire. The team's colours were green and red but after a friendly match against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers which played in green and white, Floriana FC changed its colours to green and white. The team's nicknames are: Tal-Irish and Greens.
Floriana Football Club has won the major Maltese League championship 27 times and the FA Trophy 20 times.
Formation
Football was introduced in Malta at the end of the 19th century by the British troops stationed on the island. In this regard the club's badge represents the fierceness of the lion together with the virtues of sportsmanship. The lion was chosen as the club's mascot for two general reasons attributed to history of Floriana.
First attribution is to the coat-of-arms of the Grandmaster of Order of St. John, Manoel de Vilhena, which has the lion on it.
Domestic successes
Since the foundation of the Malta Football Association, in 1909, (fiv)and local competitions the club won a total of 108 honours, which includes 27 league titles and 25 Cup knock out competitions. The club has also achieved a number of impressive feats, such as four consecutive league championships, ten doubles (League plus Cup) and a League title with maximum points.
UEFA competitions
Over the years FFC participated in the various competitions organised by the European football body, UEFA, such as the:
- UEFA Champions League
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Fairs Cities' Cup
- UEFA Europa League
- Intertoto Cup
In 1962, the club was the first to represent Malta in UEFA competitions in its Cup Winners' Cup against the Hungarian side Ujpest Dozsa. Over the years, FFC had the opportunity to meet some renowned European football clubs, including the likes of:
- Ipswich Town
- Inter Milan
- Sparta Rotterdam
- Panathinaikos
- Ferencváros
- Dundee United
- FC Porto
- Borussia Dortmund
- Hajduk Split
- Red Star Belgrade
- Haverfordwest County
On two occasions FFC made it to the next round, 1993–94 Champions Cup and Intertoto Cup 1999–00.
Youth sector
In 1987 the club founded its youth sector, Floriana FC Nursery (FFCN), which is affiliated to the Malta Youth Football Association. The club's youth sector may also be considered one of the most successful organisations of its type on the Island; not only has it produced a number of some of the finest footballers, but it has also won a number of league titles organised by the Association. The following are some of the major honours won by FFCN:
06 / 07 UNDER 14 Knock out competition
- U/14 League Champions – twice
- U/16 League Champions – six times, four of which in a row, 1993 to 1997
- U/18 League Champions – six times, four of which in a row, 1996 to 2000
Today all the major six Premiership clubs in Malta have at least two players forming part of their squad, which have been raised by the Floriana Youth Nursery.
Rivalries
During their history Floriana has had three main rivals, these being St. George's FC, Sliema Wanderers and neighbors Valletta.
The rivalry against Valletta is still alive, and is now considered the biggest fixture in the Maltese Premier League and one of the most classic derbies in Maltese football.
Out on loan
Non-playing staff
Administration
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Position !! Name
|-
| President || Johann Said
|-
| Vice President, Head of Legal & International Relations || Dr Shazoo Ghaznavi
|-
| Vice President || Raymond Vella
|-
| Secretary & 1st MFA Delegate || Dr Jacques Grima
|-
| Treasurer || Edward Spiteri
|-
| Assistant Secretary || Anton Vella
|-
| Sports Director || Marlon Galea
|-
| Seniors Team Manager || Manolito Micallef
|-
| Under 19 Team Manager || Jordie Delia
|-
| Head of Marketing & Commercial Relations|| Justin Muscat
|-
| Head of Supporters Club || Mark Edward Galea
|-
| Club Administrator || Julian Attard
|}
Historical list of coaches
- Ted Phillips (1966-67)
- Lolly Borg (1968-73)
- Hugh Caruana (1973-74)
- Tony Formosa (1975-81)
- Hugh Caruana (1988-89)
- Lolly Aquilina (1990-92)
- Mark Miller (1992-94)
- George Busuttil (1994)
- Dragan Novčić (1995)
- Ron Fenton (1995-97)
- Vlada Pejović (1997-98)
- Traiko Sokolov (1998)
- Eric Schembri (1999)
- Traiko Sokolov & Mark Miller (1999-00)
- Kim Wright (2000)
- Karim Bencherifa (1 Jul 2000-30 June 02)
- Zijad Švrakić (2002-04)
- Willie Vassallo (2004-05)
- Jimmy Briffa (2005-06)
- Joseph Grech (2006-07)
- Danilo Dončić (1 Jul 2007-30 Jun 08)
- Zoran Popović (1 Jul 2008-9 Jan 09)
- Antonio Carlos Vieira (1 Jul 2008-24 March 09)
- Roddy Collins (1 Jul 2009-15 Dec 09)
- Zoran Popović (2009-10)
- Todor Raykov (1 Jul 2010-21 Feb 11)
- Michael Woods (2010-12)
- Joe Brincat (20 Mar 2012-12)
- Mark Wright (18 Aug 2012-18 Oct 12)
- Stephen Azzopardi (18 Oct 2012-25 Jan 13)
- Iain Brunskill (29 Jan 2013-8 May 13)
- Ian Dawes (9 May 2013-8 Apr 14)
- Giovanni Tedesco (8 Apr 2014-8 May 15)
- Luis Oliveira (14 Jun 2015-8 May 16)
- Giovanni Tedesco (15 Jun 2016-4 Dec 17)
- Nicolás Chiesa (15 Dec 2017-27 Aug 18)
- Luis Oliveira (28 Aug 2018-14 Nov 18)
- Guido Ugolotti (14 Nov 2018-15 May 19)
- Vincenzo Potenza (15 May 2019-23 Dec 20)
- | John Buttigieg (26 Dec 2020-11 Feb 21)
- Darren Vella (11 Feb 2021-16 Feb 21)
- Vincenzo Potenza (16 Feb 2021-14 Jun 21)
- Gianluca Atzori (17 Jun 202110 May 23)
- Mauro Camoranesi (5 Jun 2023-15 May 24)
- Darren Abdilla (20 May 2024-14 May 25)
- Daniel Portela (1 Jul 2025-)
Honours
- Maltese Premier League
- Champions (27) 20px20px: 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1992–93, 2019–20, 2025–26
- Runners-up (14): 1922–23, 1925–26, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1991–92, 1993–94, 2010–11, 2023–24
- Maltese FA Trophy
- Champions (21): 1937–38, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1980–81, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2010–11, 2016–17, 2021–22
- Runners-up (13): 1934–35, 1935–36, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1964–65, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2005–06, 2023–24
- Maltese Super Cup
- Champions (2): 1993, 2017
- Runners-up (3): 1994, 2011, 2022
- Maltese First Division
- Champions (1): 1985–86
European record
Matches
{| class="wikitable"
! Season
! Competition
! Round
! Club
! Home
! Away
! Aggregate
|-
| 1961–62
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| Preliminary round
| Újpest
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–5
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–10
| style="text-align:center;"| 4–15
|-
| 1962–63
| European Cup
| Preliminary round
| Ipswich Town
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–4
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–10
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–14
|-
| 1965–66
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Borussia Dortmund
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–5
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–8
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–13
|-
| 1966–67
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Sparta Rotterdam
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–6
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–7
|-
| 1967–68
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| NAC Breda
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–3
|-
| 1968–69
| European Cup
| First round
| Lahti
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–3
|-
| 1969–70
| Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
| First round
| Dinamo Bacău
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–6
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–7
|-
| 1970–71
| European Cup
| First round
| Sporting CP
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–4
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–5
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–9
|-
| 1972–73
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Ferencvárosi
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–6
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–6
|-
| 1973–74
| European Cup
| First round
| Club Brugge
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–10
|-
| 1975–76
| European Cup
| First round
| Hajduk Split
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–5
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–3
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–8
|-
| 1976–77
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Śląsk Wrocław
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–4
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–6
|-
| 1977–78
| European Cup
| First round
| Panathinaikos
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–4
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–5
|-
| 1978–79
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Internazionale
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–3
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–5
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–8
|-
| 1981–82
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Standard Liège
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–3
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–9
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–12
|-
| 1988–89
| European Cup Winners' Cup
| First round
| Dundee United
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
|-
| 1991–92
| UEFA Cup
| First round
| Neuchâtel Xamax
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
|-
| 1992–93
| UEFA Cup
| First round
| Borussia Dortmund
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–7
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–8
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1993–94
| rowspan="2"| UEFA Champions League
| Preliminary round
| Ekranas
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–0
|-
| First round
| Porto
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
|-
| 1994–95
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
| Qualifying round
| Sligo Rovers
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–3
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1995
| rowspan="4"| UEFA Intertoto Cup
| rowspan="4"| Group 11
| Tirol Innsbruck
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–4
| style="text-align:center;"
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| 5th
|-
| Hapoel Petah Tikva
| style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
|-
| Strasbourg
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–4
| style="text-align:center;"
|-
| Gençlerbirliği
| style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–3
|-
| 1996–97
| UEFA Cup
| Preliminary round
| Beitar Jerusalem
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–5
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–8
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1997
| rowspan="4"| UEFA Intertoto Cup
| rowspan="4"| Group 12
| SV Ried
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–2
| style="text-align:center;"
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| 5th
|-
| Tbilisi
| style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–5
|-
| Torpedo Moscow
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"
|-
| Iraklis
| style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1999
| rowspan="2"| UEFA Intertoto Cup
| First round
| Aberystwyth Town
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 4–3
|-
| Second round
| Jokerit
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–3
|-
| 2000
| UEFA Intertoto Cup
| First round
| Stabæk
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–3
|-
| 2011–12
| Europa League
| Second qualifying round
| AEK Larnaca
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–9
|-
| 2012–13
| Europa League
| First qualifying round
| Elfsborg
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–4
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–12
|-
| 2017–18
| UEFA Europa League
| First qualifying round
| Red Star Belgrade
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–3
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–3
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–6
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2020–21
| UEFA Champions League
| First qualifying round
| CFR Cluj
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–2
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| UEFA Europa League
| Second qualifying round
| Linfield
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–0
|
|-
| Third qualifying round
| Flora
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–0 (2–4 p)
|
|
|-
| 2022–23
| UEFA Europa Conference League
| First qualifying round
| Petrocub Hîncești
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0–1
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2024–25
| rowspan="2"| UEFA Conference League
| First qualifying round
| Tre Penne
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1−1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4−2
|-
| Second qualifying round
| Vitória de Guimarães
| style="text-align:center;"| 0−1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0−4
| style="text-align:center;"| 0−5
|-
| rowspan="2"|2025–26
| rowspan="2"|UEFA Conference League
| First qualifying round
| Haverfordwest County
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5–3
|-
| Second qualifying round
| Ballkani
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–4
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–5
|}
League and cup history
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:100%;"
|-
! rowspan=2;style=text-align:center;width:10%;"| Season
! colspan=9;style=text-align:center;width:40%;"| League
! colspan=2;style=text-align:center;width:15%;"| Top scorer
! rowspan=2;style=text-align:center;width:10%;"| Cup
! colspan=3;style=text-align:center;width:25%;"| Youths
|-
!style=text-align:center;"| Div.
!style=text-align:center;"| Pos.
!style=text-align:center;"| Pl.
!style=text-align:center;"| W
!style=text-align:center;"| D
!style=text-align:center;"| L
!style=text-align:center;"| GS
!style=text-align:center;"| GA
!style=text-align:center;"| P
!style=text-align:center;"| Name
!style=text-align:center;"| Goals
!style=text-align:center;"| Sect.
!style=text-align:center;"| Pos.
!style=text-align:center;"| Cup
|-
| 2000–2001
| rowspan=22 |1st
|5th
| 28
| 13
| 4
| 11
| 54
| 48
| 27
| Rufin Oba
| 12
| SF
| rowspan=14 |A
| bgcolor=bronze|3rd
| bgcolor=silver|RU
|-
| 2001–2002
|5th
| 28
| 10
| 6
| 12
| 39
| 38
| 25
| Eduardo 'Bizu' Do Nascimento
| 9
| R2
| bgcolor=gold|1st
| SF
|-
| 2002–2003
|8th
| 24
| 8
| 6
| 10
| 32
| 34
| 20
| Grigol Gvazava <br /> Nicolò Baldacchino
| 6
| SF
| bgcolor=gold|1st
| R1
|-
| 2003–2004
|6th
| 28
| 8
| 7
| 13
| 41
| 51
| 18
| Eduardo 'Bizu' Do Nascimento <br /> Nicolò Baldacchino
| 8
| QF
| bgcolor=silver|2nd
| bgcolor=gold|W
|-
| 2004–2005
|6th
| 28
| 7
| 7
| 14
| 28
| 39
| 16
| Nicolò Baldacchino
| 6
| QF
| 4th
| SF
|-
| 2005–2006
|7th
| 24
| 6
| 9
| 9
| 36
| 37
| 18
| Adrian Mifsud
| 15
| bgcolor=silver|RU
| 6th
| QF
|-
| 2006–2007
|7th
| 24
| 9
| 7
| 8
| 41
| 30
| 22
| Adrian Mifsud
| 9
| R1
| 5th
| QF
|-
| 2007–2008
|5th
| 28
| 10
| 6
| 12
| 40
| 42
| 22
| Ryan Darmanin
| 10
| SF
| 6th
| QF
|-
| 2008–2009
|6th
| 28
| 7
| 6
| 15
| 25
| 44
| 16
| Ryan Darmanin
| 10
| QF
| 8th
| RP
|-
| 2009–2010
|7th
| 24
| 10
| 6
| 8
| 35
| 41
| 25
| Ryan Darmanin
| 17
| R2
| 4th
| bgcolor=silver|RU
|-
| 2010–2011
| bgcolor=silver|2nd
| 28
| 14
| 5
| 9
| 46
| 32
| 34
| Daniel Nwoke
| 13
| bgcolor=gold| W
| 4th
| SF
|-
| 2011–2012
| 4th
| 32
| 16
| 6
| 10
| 47
| 35
| 33
| Christian Caruana <br /> Andre Grabowski
| 7
| QF
| 5th
| SF
|-
| 2012–2013
| 7th
| 32
| 14
| 10
| 8
| 48
| 38
| 38
| Igor Coronado
| 13
| R4
| 7th
| R2
|-
| 2013–2014
| 7th
| 32
| 14
| 5
| 13
| 50
| 48
| 30
| Igor Coronado
| 14
| R4
| bgcolor=FFCCCB| 9th
| R2
|-
| 2014–2015
| 5th
| 33
| 13
| 11
| 9
| 58
| 51
| 36
| Matteo Piciollo
| 14
| R4
| rowspan = 4 | B
| 7th
| R3
|-
| 2015–2016
| 5th
| 33
| 18
| 4
| 11
| 60
| 42
| 39
| Mario Fontanella
| 20
| QF
| 4th
| SF
|-
| 2016–2017
| 5th
| 33
| 15
| 9
| 9
| 51
| 37
| 54
| Mario Fontanella
| 14
| bgcolor=gold| W
| 7th
| R2
|-
| 2017–2018
| 5th
| 26
| 12
| 10
| 4
| 48
| 18
| 46
| Mario Fontanella
| 17
| R3
| bgcolor=FFCCCB| 9th
| QF
|-
| 2018–2019
| 8th
| 26
| 9
| 5
| 12
| 28
| 25
| 32
| Arthur Oyama
| 5
| R3
| C
| 4th
| R3
|-
| 2019–2020
| bgcolor=gold| W
| 20
| 12
| 5
| 3
| 38
| 15
| 37
| Tiago Adan
| 8
| R3
| C
| 4th
| R3
|-
| 2020–2021
| 12th
| 23
| 7
| 6
| 10
| 26
| 34
| 27
| Kristian Keqi
| 5
| QF
| C
| 4th
| QF
|-
| 2021–2022
| 2nd
| 16
| 8
| 6
| 2
| 24
| 13
| 30
| Andrei Ciolacu
| 4
| R3
| ?
| 4th
|
|-
|}