The 2012–13 Maltese Premier League was the 98th season of 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 ...

, the top-tier

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 ...

league 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 ...

. It began in August 2012 and ended in May 2013.

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

were the defending champions, having won their 21st title last season. The Premier League consisted of two rounds. In the First Round, every team played each opponent twice, once "home" and once "away" (in actuality, the designation of home and away were purely arbitrary as most of the clubs did not have their own grounds), for a total of 22 games. The league was then split into two pools. Earned points were subsequently halved. Teams that finished in the positions 1–6 compete in the "Top Six" and teams that finished in positions 7–12 play in the "Play-Out".

Teams

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 ...

were relegated to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

after finishing in last place of the Play-Out last season. This ended a three-year stay in the Premier League for them. Promoted to the top flight were

Rabat Ajax Rabat Ajax Football Club is a Maltese football club based in Rabat. The last promotion to the Maltese Premier League was achieved in the 2011–12 season, when they earned promotion after finishing second behind Melita. In the 2020–21 Nationa ...

, who returned to the Premier League after an eleven-season absence, and Melita, who became the first amateur club to reach the Premier League as well as being the only amateur club in the world taking part in the top tier of a professional league.

Venues

Stadia and training grounds

Only a few stadia have the infrastructure needed to host Premier League matches. These are

Ta' Qali National Stadium The National Stadium, locally also referred to as Ta' Qali, officially known as Grawnd Nazzjonali (Maltese for ''National Stadium''), is a stadium located in Ta' Qali, Malta. The stadium, which also contains the headquarters of the Malta Football ...

and

Centenary Stadium The Centenary Stadium () is a stadium located in Ta' Qali, Malta. The stadium, which is situated next to the National Stadium, houses the headquarters of the Malta Youth Football Association. It seats 3,000 and serves as the home stadium of the ...

Ta' Qali Ta' Qali is a wide open space in the limits of Attard and Mosta in central and northern Malta respectively, which contains National Stadium, Ta' Qali, the national football stadium, the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, Ta' Qali National Park, a ...

Victor Tedesco Stadium The Victor Tedesco Stadium is a stadium in Hamrun, Malta. It opened in 1996. It has a capacity of 6,000, with 1,800 seated. It is the home ground of Maltese football club Ħamrun Spartans F.C., Ħamrun Spartans, who currently play in the Maltese ...

Ħamrun Hamrun ( ) is a town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 9,244 as of March 2014. The people The townspeople are traditionally known as ''Tas-Sikkina'' (literally meaning 'of the knife' or 'those who ca ...

and

Hibernians Ground Tony Bezzina Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Paola, Malta. The Hibernians football ground was inaugurated on 9 November 1986. Hibernians became the first Maltese club to have their own football pitch. Nonetheless, Hibernians play most of thei ...

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...

. Additional to that, each team has been assigned to a dedicated training ground. On a few occasions, Hibernians and Hamrun Spartans play at their home ground, but otherwise all games are played on neutral ground, rendering "home" and "away" games purely symbolic.

First phase

League table

Results

Second phase

Top Six

Play-Out

Championship play-off

At the end of the season, Birkirkara and Hibernians finished off equal by 45 points. On the Final Matchday of the season, on 3 May 2013, Birkirkara beat Tarxien Rainbows 1–0. And on 5 May 2013, Hibernians beat

2–1. Both teams ended with the same points. A play-off decided the title.Birkirkara are 2012/13 Premier League winners
/ref> *

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara or BKR) is a city in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the Malta (island), island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous pari ...

qualified for the

2013–14 UEFA Champions League The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was ...

. * Hibernians qualified for the

2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at the Juventus Stadium in Tu ...

Season statistics

Top scorers

References

External links

Premier League official page

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Maltese Premier League Maltese Premier League seasons