GOZO FOOTBALL SEASON 2023/2024

TO START ON 3 SEPTEMBER

The football season organised by the Gozo Football Association will officially start on Sunday 3 September 2023 with the final of the GFA Super Cup with the kickoff scheduled for 6:00 pm.  The first match of the new season will be contested by the reigning champions Nadur Youngsters and Ghajnsielem, who were defeated by the same Nadur in the last edition of the BOV GFA Cup.

This Super Cup final is a repetition of the final contested at the beginning of the last season where Ghajnsielem surprised Nadur and won the first honour of the season 2022/2023 so that the Blacks managed to take the only honour in Gozitan football from Nadur Youngsters in two seasons.

The BOV Gozo Football League of the first division will start with matches from Match-Day 1 during the week.  This season the teams in the top flight all made changes from their respective typical formation of the last season and some are also seeking to be serious challengers to Nadur Youngsters for the main honours in Gozitan football.

Nadur, who got the service of Eton Vella as coach, will start the season as favourites, while Qala Saints, who have Shaun Bajada as a coach for the second consecutive season, are aiming to be more competitive than they did last season when they ended in the runners-up position.  Kercem Ajax, who signed Michael Vella as their coach at the beginning of this season, are expected to consolidate their status among the top teams in the first division, while Xewkija Tigers, who retained Daniel Bogdanovic as their coach, should be among the main challengers to Nadur.

Ghajnsielem and Oratory Youths would probably aim to earn a comfortable mid-table position as early as possible in the campaign.  Newly promoted sides SK Victoria Wanderers, who signed Mark Buttigieg as their coach, and Xaghra United, who retained Shaun Attard as the coach, will both be aiming to be competitive in the main category of Gozitan football and will try to take as many points as possible from the other six sides.

The BOV Gozo Football League of the first division this season will be played in three rounds where the eight teams will play against each other in a round-robin format.

The opening match of Match-Day 1, which will be played on Thursday 7 September with kick-off at 6:30 pm, Oratory Youths will play against SK Victoria Wanderers.  On Sunday 10 September at 6:00 pm champions Nadur Youngsters will play against Ghajnsielem and at 8:00 pm, Kercem Ajax will play against Xewkija Tigers.  The last match of the first Match-Day will be played on Monday 11 September between Xaghra United and Qala Saints.

In the meantime, the six teams from the lower category of Gozitan football will start their commitments for the 2023/2024 season with a match from the 2nd Division Challenge Cup.  The six teams will play one round-robin against each other and the first two teams on the table will eventually contest the final.  The first matches from this competition will be played on Saturday 9 September 2023 at the Kercem Stadium.  At 4:45 pm, Sannat Lions will play against Gharb Rangers; at 7:00 pm, Zebbug Rovers will play against Victoria Hotspurs.  The other match of the first Match-Day competition will be played on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at 6:00 pm between St Lawrence Spurs and Munxar Falcons.

The BOV Gozo Football League of the second division will start in October.

First GFA Fixtures for the 2023/2024 season:

Sunday 3 September 2023. Gozo Stadium

6:00 pm GFA Super Cup Final

Nadur Youngsters vs Ghajnsielem FC

Thursday 7 September 2023, Gozo Stadium

6:30 pm BOV Gozo Football League 1st Division (MD 1)

Oratory Youths vs. SK Victoria Wanderers

Saturday 9 September 2023, Kercem Stadium

4:45 pm 2nd Division Challenge Cup (MD 1)

Sannat Lions vs. Gharb Rangers

7:00 pm 2nd Division Challenge Cup (MD 1)

Zebbug Rovers vs. Victoria Hotspurs

Sunday 10 September 2023, Gozo Stadium

6:00 pm BOV Gozo Football League 1st Division (MD 1)

Nadur Youngsters vs Ghajnsielem

8:00 pm BOV Gozo Football League 1st Division (MD 1)

Kercem Ajax vs Xewkija Tigers

Monday 11 September 2023, Gozo Stadium

7:00 pm BOV Gozo Football League 1st Division (MD 1)

Xaghra United vs. Qala Saints

Tuesday 12 September 2023, Kercem Stadium

6:00 pm 2nd Division Challenge Cup (MD 1)

St Lawrence Spurs vs. Munxar Falcons