Żejtun Corinthians Football Club is a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club from the town of

Żejtun Żejtun ( ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at the end of 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von ...

, which currently plays in the

Maltese Challenge League The Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the Bank of Valletta, BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division in Football in Malta, Maltese football, behind the Maltese Premier League. The First Division was th ...

History

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the game of football in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

was re-enacted, falling under the responsibility of the

Malta Football Association The Malta Football Association (MFA; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Malta. The Association organises the Maltese Football League for both men and women and several other competitions, including knockout competitions ...

. Like other local villages and towns, the Żejtun population eagerly set up a football team, and in 1943 the name of Żejtun Corinthians first emerged. The team's name was chosen from a football team taking part in the English league. The first committee members of the football club consisted of Joseph Cassar (Club President), Joseph Galea (Vice President), Fortunato Zerafa (General Secretary), and Grazio Cassar, (Treasurer). The official colours of the club's kit are navy blue and sky blue stripes. This colour scheme was first inspired by that of Sliema Wanderers, since at the time many ‘Zwieten' supported Sliema Wanderers. The first decade proved to be a good start for Żejtun Corinthians. The players forming part of the football team were either Żejtun locals, or sportsmen from the vicinities. In the first seasons, Żejtun Corinthians placed in the lower divisions of the league. However, thanks to the team's hard work, Żejtun Corinthians managed to secure honours in the leagues organized by the

in a couple of years. Since then, the team reached its highest placing in the 1960s when a rank in the Second Division was meritoriously secured. This was the golden era of Żejtun Corinthians with players like Louis Bonello, Reginald Vella James, Anthony Spiteri, Joe Abela and

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

John Formosa. During the 1959/60 season, Żejtun Corinthians won the double, placing first in the Maltese Third Division classification and the Knockout competition. During the 1970s the team also had its share of successes. After winning the Maltese Third Division multiple times, Żejtun Corinthians reached the

Maltese Second Division The Maltese Second Division (also known as the BOV Second Division due to sponsorship reasons) was the third-highest division in Maltese football until 2020 when it was merged with the Maltese Third Division to create the National Amateur Le ...

. In the 1980, the

reorganized the National Leagues and for the first time introduced the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

. In the 1981/82, and the following three consecutive seasons, 1986/87, 1987/88, and 1988/89, Żejtun Corinthians proudly played in the

Maltese First Division The Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division in Maltese football, behind the Maltese Premier League. The First Division was the precursor of the present Premier ...

. In the early 1990s history repeated itself, in the season 1991/92 Żejtun Corinthians won the Maltese Third Division championship with a stunning win in a derby decider over

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishing and history. As of March 2014, the village had a populati ...

. In the season 2002/03 Żejtun Corinthians were declared Champions for the Maltese Third Division, with a prestigious win over eternal rivals St. George's under the presidency of Ludwig Camilleri. The last honour club won was in season 2016/2017 Club won the Second Division Championship. During the 2020–21 season, the club won promotion to

after finishing top of the table when the league was suspended due to the COVID outbreak.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zejtun Corinthians Football clubs in Malta Association football clubs established in 1943 1943 establishments in Malta