The 2025–26 Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-level league football in Malta. It is the sixth season that the competition has been running in its present form.

Teams

The league consists of sixteen teams; twelve teams remaining from the previous season, two teams promoted from the 2024-25 Maltese National Amateur League, and two teams relegated from the 2024-25 Maltese Premier League.[1]

Team changes

The following teams have changed divisions since the 2024–25 season:[2]

Team Location Manager
Balzan Balzan Malta Andrew Cohen
Birzebbuga St. Peter's Birzebbuga Malta Edgar Degabriele
Fgura United Fgura Malta Kevin Vella
Gudja United Gudja Nigeria Orosco Anonam
Marsa Marsa Malta Ryan Fenech
Melita San Ġiljan Malta Brian Said
Mgarr United Mgarr Malta Shaun Bajada
Mtarfa Mtarfa Malta Ludvic Bartolo
Pietà Hotspurs Pietà Malta Manuel Caruana
Santa Lucia Santa Luċija Malta Joseph Galea
Sirens St. Paul's Bay Malta Stephen Damato
St. Andrews St. Andrew's, Malta Malta Jose` Borg
Swieqi United Swieqi Malta Liam Mangion
Vittoriosa Stars Birgu Malta Jason Camenzuli
Żebbuġ Rangers Żebbuġ Malta Saviour Debono Grech
Żurrieq Żurrieq Malta Brian Spiteri

Venues

Ta' Qali Ta' Qali
Location of host stadia during the 2025-26 Maltese Challenge League
Ta' Qali National Stadium Centenary Stadium
Capacity: 16,997 Capacity: 3,000
St. Paul's Bay Hamrun
Sirens Stadium Victor Tedesco Stadium
Capacity: 1,024 Capacity: 1,962

Regular season

During the regular season, each team plays each other once (either at home or at away). The top eight teams qualify for the Top eight, while the bottom eight teams qualify for the Play-Out.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Balzan 15 11 2 2 37 10 +27 35 Qualification for the Top Eight
2 Melita 15 10 2 3 36 17 +19 32
3 Birzebbuga St. Peter's 15 10 1 4 29 15 +14 31
4 Sirens 15 9 2 4 39 19 +20 29
5 Swieqi United 15 9 2 4 32 23 +9 29
6 Fgura United 15 8 1 6 33 24 +9 25
7 Pietà Hotspurs 15 7 3 5 27 21 +6 24
8 St. Andrews 15 7 2 6 19 23 −4 23
9 Mgarr United 15 6 4 5 28 24 +4 22 Qualification for the Play-Out
10 Gudja United 15 5 7 3 16 13 +3 22
11 Santa Lucia 15 4 6 5 27 25 +2 18
12 Żurrieq 15 4 2 9 21 27 −6 14
13 Vittoriosa Stars 15 3 3 9 17 24 −7 12
14 Marsa 15 2 4 9 18 28 −10 10
15 Żebbuġ Rangers 15 2 2 11 9 37 −28 8
16 Mtarfa 15 1 1 13 9 67 −58 −2[a]
Updated to match(es) played on 1 February 2026. Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or teams for relegation).
Notes:
  1. ↑ Mtarfa were deducted six points.[3]

Results

Home \ Away BAL BRZ FGU GUD MEL MSA MGR MTF PIE STL SIR STA SWQ VIT ZEB ZUR
Balzan — 3–0 0–1 4–0 1–1 4–0 4–1 4–0
Birzebbuga St. Peter's — 2–1 1–0 8–2 3–2 1–0
Fgura United 1–2 0–3 — 1–1 2–3 8–0 2–0 1–5
Gudja United — 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0
Melita 0–2 2–2 — 3–2 4–0 3–1 1–2
Marsa 1–3 — 2–3 2–2 2–2 1–2 0–1 1–3
Mgarr United 1–4 1–0 1–3 — 3–3 2–3 5–1
Mtarfa 0–3 0–2 1–3 — 0–2 1–2 4–1
Pietà Hotspurs 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 — 1–3 2–0 4–1
Santa Lucia 1–1 2–2 7–0 0–1 — 1–3 0–0
Sirens 1–3 1–2 2–1 4–1 3–5 — 1–1
St. Andrews 0–2 1–2 1–0 0–4 0–4 — 3–3
Swieqi United 8–0 3–1 1–1 — 3–2 3–1 3–1
Vittoriosa Stars 1–1 2–3 1–0 0–2 0–1 — 0–1
Żebbuġ Rangers 0–1 1–4 0–1 0–4 — 1–4
Żurrieq 0–1 2–3 1–4 1–5 1–1 1–1 4–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 1 February 2026. Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Top Eight and Play Out

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Balzan (C, P) 22 15 3 4 50 21 +29 48 Champion. Promoted to 2026-27 Malta Premier League
2 Birzebbuga St. Peter's (P) 22 14 4 4 47 27 +20 46 Promotion play-off
3 Swieqi United 22 14 4 4 48 28 +20 46
4 Melita 22 12 2 8 42 28 +14 38
5 Sirens 22 11 2 9 50 33 +17 35
6 Pietà Hotspurs 22 10 5 7 42 34 +8 35
7 Fgura United 22 10 2 10 41 37 +4 32
8 St. Andrews 22 8 3 11 26 38 −12 27
9 Mgarr United 22 9 6 7 41 33 +8 33
10 Gudja United 22 8 8 6 29 25 +4 32
11 Santa Lucia 22 7 9 6 40 31 +9 30
12 Żurrieq 22 8 3 11 36 38 −2 27
13 Vittoriosa Stars 22 5 6 11 26 33 −7 21
14 Żebbuġ Rangers 22 5 5 12 23 45 −22 20
15 Marsa (R) 22 4 7 11 32 38 −6 19 Relegation to the 2026-27 National Amateur League
16 Mtarfa (R) 22 1 1 20 10 94 −84 −2[a]
Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2026. Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions or teams for relegation).
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Mtarfa were deducted six points.

Top 8 Results

Home \ Away BAL BRZ FGU MEL PIE SIR STA SWQ
Balzan — 3–3 2–0 1–4 1–2
Birzebbuga St. Peter's — 3–1 2–1 2–2 3–2
Fgura United 1–2 — 0–4 2–0
Melita 0–1 — 2–0 3–0
Pietà Hotspurs 1–3 1–0 — 2–2 1–3
Sirens 0–1 3–2 3–4 —
St. Andrews 1–3 0–3 — 0–1
Swieqi United 2–2 1–1 5–0 2–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2026. Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Play Out Results

Home \ Away GUD MSA MGR MTF STL VIT ZEB ZUR
Gudja United — 3–0 1–3 0–3
Marsa 3–3 — 1–2 5–0 2–2
Mgarr United 0–2 — 5–0 1–1 1–1
Mtarfa — 1–5 0–1 0–2
Santa Lucia 2–1 0–1 — 1–1 3–0
Vittoriosa Stars 2–3 1–1 — 0–1 2–1
Żebbuġ Rangers 1–1 0–2 6–0 —
Żurrieq 2–1 4–2 3–3 —
Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2026. Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Promotion Playoff

Due to Swieqi United and Birżebbuġa St. Peter's both finishing equal on points and goal difference, a playoff was required to take place to determine who got the second promotion place. Birżebbuġa St. Peter's won the playoff on penalties.[4]

23 April 2026 Swieqi United 1 - 1
(6-7 p)		 Birzebbuga St. Peter's Ta'Qali
  • Barbara 10' (pen.)
  • Attard Yellow card 11'
  • Aquilina Yellow card 42'
  • Fenech Yellow card 66'
  • Hili Yellow card 73'
  • Aguilar Yellow card 88'
 Report
  • Bolanos Yellow card 7'
  • Zerafa 28', Yellow card 11'
  • Azzopardi Yellow card 88'
  • Xuereb Yellow card 90+2'
  • Agius Yellow card 102'
 Stadium: Centenary Stadium
Penalties
  • Fenech football with red X
  • Aguilar football with check mark
  • Leonardi football with check mark
  • Augusto football with check mark
  • Okle football with check mark
  • Micallef football with check mark
  • Agius football with check mark
  • Okoh football with red X
  • de Souza football with check mark
  • Zerafa football with check mark
  • Charles football with red X
  • Xuereb football with check mark
  • Walker football with check mark
  • Vella football with check mark
  • Agius football with check mark
  • Cassar football with check mark

References

  1. ↑ "Draws held for 2025/26 BOV National Leagues". MFA.com.mt. 18 July 2025.
  2. ↑ "BOV Challenge League". maltafootball.info. 18 July 2025. Archived from the original on 26 April 2025.
  3. ↑ "Mtarfa FC to start Challenge League season with six point deduction". maltasport.mt/. 1 August 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  4. ↑ Camilleri, Rowen (24 April 2026). "Birżebbuġa St Peter's promoted to Malta Premier after dramatic penalty win". maltasport.mt.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_Maltese_Challenge_League