Floriana F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Floriana

Full name	Floriana Football Club
Nickname(s)	Tal-Irish, Il-Greens
Founded	1894; 131 years ago (1894)
Ground	Various
Manager	Darren Abdilla
League	Maltese Premier League
2023–24	Maltese Premier League, 2nd of 14
Home colours Away colours

Floriana Football Club is a professional football team from the town of Floriana in Malta. They play in the Maltese Premier League, which is the top football league in Malta. Floriana FC is one of the most successful clubs in Malta. They have won the national league 26 times and the FA Trophy 21 times.

Floriana is also the only team from Malta to have made it past the first qualifying rounds into the main part of the UEFA Champions League. This happened in the 1993–94 season, which was a big achievement for Maltese football.

History of Floriana FC

Floriana Football Club started in 1894. The football ground was officially opened by Queen Alexandra. Before it became a football field, it was a cricket ground. Floriana FC is one of the two oldest football clubs in Malta, along with St. George's FC.

Football first came to Malta because of British soldiers stationed there. At that time, Malta was a colony of the British Empire. The British soldiers played sports like cricket, hockey, and football in large open areas. Locals, especially in Floriana, became very interested in football.

Floriana FC is part of the Malta Football Association. This association is also a member of UEFA and FIFA, which are the main football organizations in Europe and worldwide.

Club Colours and Mascot

When Floriana FC first started, their team colours were green and red. But in 1905, they played a friendly match against a British army team called the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. This team wore green and white. After the game, the Floriana players liked the green and white so much that they changed their own team colours to green and white stripes.

Because of this strong connection with the Irish regiment, people from Floriana were nicknamed "Tal-Irish," which means "of the Irish." The team is also known as "Il-Greens" because of their green colours.

The club's mascot is a lion. You can see the lion on the club's badge, which has been there since 1936. The badge also has a Latin saying, "Ex Ludis Virtus," which means "virtue out of the game." The lion stands for strength, and the motto shows the good values of sportsmanship.

The lion was chosen as the mascot for two main reasons linked to Floriana's history:

• The coat-of-arms of Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena has a lion on it. He helped build the town of Floriana to protect the capital city, Valletta. He even ordered a lion statue fountain to be built in Floriana's main square, which is still there today.
• The statue of Saint Publius, who is the patron saint of Floriana, also includes a lion. This lion shows how Saint Publius was killed for his Christian beliefs.

Floriana FC won its first game on April 13, 1910, which was the feast day of Saint Publius. Many people saw this as a special sign of good luck.

2020 League Win

On May 25, 2020, Floriana FC won the BOV Premier League. This was their 26th league title and their first in 27 years! The season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The health authorities in Malta stopped all contact sports to keep people safe.

The Malta Football Association then decided that the teams at the top of their leagues would be declared champions. So, Floriana was crowned champions.

After the win, many supporters gathered in Floriana to celebrate. However, this gathering broke social distancing rules that were in place because of the pandemic. This caused a lot of discussion and was reported in many Maltese newspapers.

Major Successes

Since the Malta Football Association started in 1909, Floriana FC has won many awards. They have won a total of 108 honours. This includes 26 league titles and 25 Cup knock-out competitions.

The club has also achieved some amazing things, like winning the league four times in a row. They have also won the league and cup in the same season ten times, which is called a "double." Once, they even won the league with the highest possible points!

Playing in Europe

Floriana FC has played in many European football competitions organized by UEFA. These include:

• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
• Fairs Cities' Cup
• UEFA Europa League
• UEFA Intertoto Cup

In 1962, Floriana was the first Maltese club to play in a UEFA competition. They played against a Hungarian team called Ujpest Dozsa in the Cup Winners' Cup. Over the years, Floriana FC has played against some very famous European clubs, such as:

• Ipswich Town
• Inter Milan
• Sparta Rotterdam
• Panathinaikos
• Ferencváros
• Dundee United
• FC Porto
• Borussia Dortmund
• Hajduk Split
• Red Star Belgrade

Floriana FC has managed to move to the next round in European competitions twice: in the 1993–94 Champions Cup and the 1999–00 Intertoto Cup.

Youth Team

In 1987, the club started its youth section, called Floriana FC Nursery (FFCN). This nursery helps young players develop their skills. It is one of the most successful youth football organizations in Malta. It has trained many great footballers and won many league titles for young players.

Some of the titles won by FFCN include:

• U/14 Knock-out competition (2006–07)
• U/14 League Champions – twice
• U/16 League Champions – six times (four of these were in a row from 1993 to 1997)
• U/18 League Champions – six times (four of these were in a row from 1996 to 2000)

Today, many of the top six Premier League clubs in Malta have at least two players who started their football journey at the Floriana Youth Nursery.

Team Rivalries

Throughout its history, Floriana FC has had three main rivals: St. George's FC, Sliema Wanderers, and their close neighbours Valletta.

The rivalry with St. George's began when football first started in Malta around 1890. Later, the rivalry with Sliema Wanderers became very strong. This became known as the "old firm rivalry." It was at its peak from 1922 until the late 1970s, when both teams were very dominant in Maltese football. Matches between them were very intense.

Today, the rivalry with St. George's and Sliema is not as strong as it used to be. However, Floriana recently beat Sliema in the FA Trophy final, which brought back some of the old rivalry. Floriana has won 9 FA Trophy finals against Sliema.

The rivalry against Valletta is still very strong and is considered the biggest match in the Maltese Premier League. It's one of the most famous derbies in Maltese football. This rivalry exists because the two towns are very close to each other. Both clubs also have a long history and have won many titles. Games between Floriana and Valletta always attract a lot of fans and are treated like cup finals.

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player 4 DF Oualid El Hasni 7 MF Mattia Veselji 8 MF Jake Grech 9 MF Kemar Reid 11 MF Thiaguinho Santos 12 MF Dunstan Vella 17 DF Owen Spiteri 19 MF Luca Accarino 20 MF Matías García 21 MF Carlo Zammit Lonardelli

No. Position Player 22 FW Kyrian Nwoko 25 GK Saúl Gracia 27 FW Franklin Sasere 37 GK Reece Cutajar 45 GK Christoffer Mafoumbi 55 DF Alexandros Kouros 70 DF Fernandinho 77 DF Aleandro Garzia 79 DF Guy Serge Yaméogo 97 MF Emerson Sousa

Out on loan

No. Position Player 14 MF Eman Micallef (at Gudja United until 30 June 2024)

No. Position Player

Non-playing staff

Administration

Managerial positions

Name	Nat	From	To
Karim Bencherifa		1 July 2000	30 June 2002
Zijad Švrakić		2002	2004
Jimmy Briffa		2005	2006
Joseph Grech		2006	2007
Danilo Dončić		1 July 2007	30 June 2008
Zoran Popović		1 July 2008	9 Jan 2009
Antonio Carlos Vieira		1 July 2008	24 March 2009
Roddy Collins		1 July 2009	15 Dec 2009
Zoran Popović		2009	2010
Todor Raykov		1 July 2010	21 Feb 2011
Michael Woods		2010	2012
Joe Brincat		20 March 2012	2012
Mark Wright		18 Aug 2012	18 Oct 2012
Stephen Azzopardi		18 Oct 2012	25 Jan 2013
Iain Brunskill		29 Jan 2013	8 May 2013
Ian Dawes		9 May 2013	8 April 2014
Giovanni Tedesco		8 April 2014	8 May 2015
Luis Oliveira		14 June 2015	8 May 2016
Giovanni Tedesco		15 June 2016	4 December 2017
Nicolas Hernan Chiesa		15 December 2017	27 August 2018
Luis Oliveira		28 August 2018	14 November 2018
Guido Ugolotti		14 November 2018	15 May 2019
Vincenzo Potenza		15 May 2019	23 December 2020
John Buttigieg		26 December 2020	11 February 2021
Darren Vella		11 February 2021	16 February 2021
Vincenzo Potenza		16 February 2021	14 June 2021
Gianluca Atzori		17 June 2021	10 May 2023
Mauro Camoranesi		5 June 2023	15 May 2024
Darren Abdilla		20 May 2024

Honours

• Maltese Premier League
  • Champions (26) : 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1992–93, 2019–20
  • Runners-up (13): 1922–23, 1925–26, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1991–92, 1993–94, 2010–11
• Maltese FA Trophy
  • Champions (21): 1937–38, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1980–81, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2010–11, 2016–17, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (12): 1934–35, 1935–36, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1964–65, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2005–06
• Maltese Super Cup
  • Champions (2): 1993, 2017
  • Runners-up (2): 1994, 2011, 2022
• Maltese First Division
  • Champions (1): 1985–86
• Centenary Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2000

European record

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1961–62	European Cup Winners' Cup	Preliminary round	Újpest	2–5	2–10	4–15
1962–63	European Cup	Preliminary round	Ipswich Town	1–4	0–10	1–14
1965–66	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Borussia Dortmund	1–5	0–8	1–13
1966–67	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Sparta Rotterdam	1–1	0–6	1–7
1967–68	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	NAC Breda	1–2	0–1	1–3
1968–69	European Cup	First round	Lahti	1–1	0–2	1–3
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Dinamo Bacău	0–1	0–6	0–7
1970–71	European Cup	First round	Sporting CP	0–4	0–5	0–9
1972–73	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Ferencvárosi	1–0	0–6	1–6
1973–74	European Cup	First round	Club Brugge	0–2	0–8	0–10
1975–76	European Cup	First round	Hajduk Split	0–5	0–3	0–8
1976–77	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Śląsk Wrocław	1–4	0–2	1–6
1977–78	European Cup	First round	Panathinaikos	1–1	0–4	1–5
1978–79	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Internazionale	1–3	0–5	1–8
1981–82	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Standard Liège	1–3	0–9	1–12
1988–89	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Dundee United	0–0	0–1	0–1
1991–92	UEFA Cup	First round	Neuchâtel Xamax	0–0	0–2	0–2
1992–93	UEFA Cup	First round	Borussia Dortmund	0–1	2–7	2–8
1993–94	UEFA Champions League	Preliminary round	Ekranas	1–0	1–0	2–0
		First round	Porto	0–0	0–2	0–2
1994–95	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying round	Sligo Rovers	2–2	0–1	2–3
1995	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 11	Tirol Innsbruck	0–4	N/A	5th
			Hapoel Petah Tikva	N/A	1–1
			Strasbourg	0–4	N/A
			Gençlerbirliği	N/A	0–3
1996–97	UEFA Cup	Preliminary round	Beitar Jerusalem	1–5	1–3	2–8
1997	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 12	SV Ried	1–2	N/A	5th
			Tbilisi	N/A	0–5
			Torpedo Moscow	0–1	N/A
			Iraklis	N/A	0–1
1999	UEFA Intertoto Cup	First round	Aberystwyth Town	2–1	2–2	4–3
		Second round	Jokerit	1–1	1–2	2–3
2000	UEFA Intertoto Cup	First round	Stabæk	1–1	0–2	1–3
2011–12	Europa League	Second qualifying round	AEK Larnaca	0–8	0–1	0–9
2012–13	Europa League	First qualifying round	Elfsborg	0–4	0–8	0–12
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Red Star Belgrade	3–3	0–3	3–6
2020–21	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round	CFR Cluj	0–2	N/A	N/A
	UEFA Europa League	Second qualifying round	Linfield	N/A	1–0	N/A
		Third qualifying round	Flora	0–0 (2–4 p)	N/A	N/A
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	First qualifying round	Petrocub Hîncești	0–0	0–1	0–1
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	First qualifying round	Tre Penne	3–1	1−1	4−2
		Second qualifying round	Vitória de Guimarães	0-1	0-4	0-5

League and cup history

Season	League	Top Scorer	Cup	Youths
Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Name	Goals	Sect.	Pos.	Cup
2000–2001	1st	5th	28	13	4	11	54	48	27	Rufin Oba	12	SF	A	3rd	RU
2001–2002		5th	28	10	6	12	39	38	25	Eduardo 'Bizu' Do Nascimento	9	R2		1st	SF
2002–2003		8th	24	8	6	10	32	34	20	Grigol Gvazava Nicolò Baldacchino	6	SF		1st	R1
2003–2004		6th	28	8	7	13	41	51	18	Eduardo 'Bizu' Do Nascimento Nicolò Baldacchino	8	QF		2nd	W
2004–2005		6th	28	7	7	14	28	39	16	Nicolò Baldacchino	6	QF		4th	SF
2005–2006		7th	24	6	9	9	36	37	18	Adrian Mifsud	15	RU		6th	QF
2006–2007		7th	24	9	7	8	41	30	22	Adrian Mifsud	9	R1		5th	QF
2007–2008		5th	28	10	6	12	40	42	22	Ryan Darmanin	10	SF		6th	QF
2008–2009		6th	28	7	6	15	25	44	16	Ryan Darmanin	10	QF		8th	RP
2009–2010		7th	24	10	6	8	35	41	25	Ryan Darmanin	17	R2		4th	RU
2010–2011		2nd	28	14	5	9	46	32	34	Daniel Nwoke	13	W		4th	SF
2011–2012		4th	32	16	6	10	47	35	33	Christian Caruana Andre Grabowski	7	QF		5th	SF
2012–2013		7th	32	14	10	8	48	38	38	Igor Coronado	13	R4		7th	R2
2013–2014		7th	32	14	5	13	50	48	30	Igor Coronado	14	R4		9th	R2
2014–2015		5th	33	13	11	9	58	51	36	Matteo Piciollo	14	R4	B	7th	R3
2015–2016		5th	33	18	4	11	60	42	39	Mario Fontanella	20	QF		4th	SF
2016–2017		5th	33	15	9	9	51	37	54	Mario Fontanella	14	W		7th	R2
2017–2018		5th	26	12	10	4	48	18	46	Mario Fontanella	17	R3		9th	QF
2018–2019		8th	26	9	5	12	28	25	32	Arthur Oyama	5	R3	C	4th	R3
2019–2020		W	20	12	5	3	38	15	37	Tiago Adan	8	R3	C	4th	R3
2020–2021		12th	23	7	6	10	26	34	27	Kristian Keqi	5	QF	C	4th	QF
2021–2022		2nd	16	8	6	2	24	13	30	Andrei Ciolacu	4	R3	?	4th

See also

In Spanish: Floriana Football Club para niños