Malta is an island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea.The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the European Union by both area and population, with the country being the world's tenth-smallest by area, The island has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, during the Mesolithic period. Its central Mediterranean location has historically given it great geostrategic importance, with multiple powers having ruled the islands and shaped its culture and society.
The Centenary Stadium, is the headquarters of the Malta Youth Football Association and home to Malta national under-21 side, as well as hosting Maltese league and cup fixtures. Work on the stadium began in 1998, which consisted in the construction of a main stand and a canopy, which opened in August 1999. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Malta Football Association, the stadium was named the "Centenary Stadium" and has a seating capacity of 3,000.
The first competitive match was a Maltese 2nd and 3rd Knockout between Birżebbuġa St. Peter's and Ghaxaq on the 4th September, with the first goal scored by Ghaxaq's Sandro Lapira in a 2-1 win for his team.
All spectators are housed in the stand, which has multi-coloured bucket seats, with cover over the middle sections, with the changing rooms underneath. The team benches are on the opposite side, along with an electric scoreboard. The most important fact about the stadium though, is it’s the one thousandth patch of rectangle turf that I’ve seen a football match at.
Next door is the Grawnd Nazzjonali (National Stadium) which is locally referred to as Ta' Qali due to its location. It’s the headquarters of the Malta Football Association and home to the national team, as well as being one of the four stadiums which hosts the Maltese Premier League.
The stadium opened in 1981, with the record attendance coming for a 1986 World Cup Qualifier between Malta and West Germany on the 16th December 1984, when 35,102 people turned up to watch Malta narrowly lose 3-2.
In September 2002 the stadium was enhanced with "the jewel in the Malta FA's crown" as the Millennium Stand replaced the derelict 5,000 seater East Stand, at a cost of Lm3.5 million. It is regarded as the "biggest infrastructural project ever undertaken by the Malta Football Association" For the match I attended, there were only guests and VIPs in the stand, with all the paying customers in the West Stand. This has a large bank of seats with the changing rooms underneath, as the players emerge from a stairwell into the arena. There is uncovered seating behind both goals which are set back due to the oval shape. The stadium now has an all seated capacity of 16,997.
✓1,000 Centenary Stadium
Malta U-21 0 Northern Ireland U-21 4
Euro U-21 Qualification Group F matchday 8 (6th v 3rd)
Saturday 26th September 2026
1900ko
Att.200.aprox
Admission €10
The Irish were far too strong for the young Malta team, scoring two goals in each half, as the match finished in a heavy rain storm.
0-1 Shea Kearney 31’
0-3 Jack Patterson 43’ (0-2 HT) 63’
0-4 Bayley McCann 72’
✓1,001 Ta' Qali National Stadium
Malta 2 Liechtenstein 0
International Friendly
Sunday 27th September 2026
1830ko
Att.1,953
Admission €20
I got quite excited when the visitors were awarded an early penalty, meaning I could see Liechtenstein actually score a goal. However, it wasn’t to be as Hasler screwed his shot wide of the post. After a dodgy start, Malta grew into the game and took the lead with a cracking goal just before half time, then doubled their advantage just after the hour mark.
Nicolas Hasler(Liechtenstein) Penalty missed 12’
1-0 Jack Grech 37’
2-0 Andrea Zammit 63’
#Heedhopper
Jet 2 flights Newcastle International to Malta International (24/9 return on 1/10)
1,539 miles airport-to-airport
Countries visited/Countries seen football 22/18
This was our first visit to Malta and what a cracking week we had, so much so that I’m keen to return to this fine island some day. Anyone who is friends with me on Facebook will know where I went and what I got up to (i.e. pubs and boozing) so I won’t go into a full holiday itinerary. As far as football is concerned, the trip to the match ended up as a bit of an adventure. From my base in Gzira it was a two bus journey, firstly jumping on one of the many buses towards Valletta, then alighting on the other side of the harbour, to cross the road to catch the number 56 to Ta’Quali.
The onward journey went according to plan, arriving an hour before kick off for the Saturday night international. You need to walk around the perimeter of the National Stadium to reach the Centenary Stadium at the far end, so I took some exterior pictures then noticed an open gate, so I casually walked into the stadium where the Liechtenstein team were training on the pitch ahead of the Sunday night fixture and got my snaps of an empty arena for the blog.
On reaching the Centenary Stadium I was stopped by the police outside the entrance, as they wanted to know who I supported. I told them I was neutral, so they gave me the option of home or away and I chose the Malta side of the stand. This turned out to be a great decision, because I don’t think I’ve seen so many gorgeous women in attendance at a match at my previous 999 grounds. Also at the game were two lads from Chorley, who I had chatted with and guided them in the right direction in obtaining a team sheet.
During the last half an hour of the match it absolutely lashed down with the rain tap on full blast. I was praying for it to stop before the full time whistle, but it got heavier as the players exited the pitch. I had time spare before my bus was due so hung on as long as I could before legging it to the bus stop. Thankfully the rain eased and I didn’t end up looking like a drowned rat.
It was a different bus route back to Silema, the first leg being the 202 which was due at 2110. I spoke to a lad at the bus stop to make sure I was going in the right direction and he told me it was the stop across the road. When it got to 9.20 the bus still hadn’t shown up and this meant I had missed my connection bus. The lad who I spoke to came over to let me know the bus was cancelled and asked where I was going. He was also heading to Silema and advised to get a bus to Mosta, where there were plenty of onward options.
On our way to Mosta my travel colleague suddenly got up and spoke to the bus driver, after a long conversation it turned out that he had re-routed because ‘Mosta is closed!’ We got off the bus at the next stop, then he ordered an Uber to get us back. The lad was called Sebastian and hails from Chile, living in Malta for the last five years. He told me that the buses can be unreliable, cancelled without notice and a festival in Mosta meant all the access roads were closed. What a smashing lad and when he reads this (which he will) I’d again like to say thanks very much for helping me out.
Thankfully the following night there were no hiccups, but the carry on I had on Saturday was typical of my Groundhopping adventures. If you’ve been reading this bollox for the last twenty years you’ll already know that, but I suppose it's one of the hobbies attractions and as one of my fellow Groundhopping friends always states… ‘It’s the journey not the destination!’
