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	Daniel Portela
League	Maltese Premier League
2024–25	Maltese Premier League, 3rd of 14
Home colours Away colours

Floriana Football Club is a professional football team from the town of Floriana, Malta. They play in the Maltese Premier League, which is the top football league in Malta. Floriana FC is one of the most popular and successful clubs in Maltese football. They have won 26 national league titles and 21 FA Trophies. It is also the only team from Malta to have reached the first round of the UEFA Champions League, which happened in the 1993–94 season.

Club History: How Floriana FC Started

Floriana Football Club began in 1894. The football ground was officially opened by Queen Alexandra. Before that, it was a cricket ground since 1890. Floriana FC and St. George's FC are the two oldest football clubs in Malta. Football was brought to Malta by British soldiers who were stationed there when Malta was part of the British Empire.

The club is part of the Malta Football Association. This association is also a member of UEFA and FIFA, which are big international football organizations. The team's first colours were green and red. But after playing a friendly match against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who wore green and white, Floriana FC changed its colours to green and white. The team's fun nicknames are Tal-Irish and Greens.

The Start of Football in Malta

Football came to Malta in the late 1800s. British troops stationed on the island introduced the sport. Malta was a British colony and an important base for British forces. The soldiers had large areas for training and sports. They played cricket, hockey, and football.

British forces were mainly in Floriana, Cospicua, Mtarfa, Marsa, and Sliema. Local people living in these areas learned about these sports from the soldiers. Football became very popular among the people of Floriana. Floriana still has a hockey club today, called Floriana Young Stars Hockey Club.

Team Colours and Lion Mascot

From 1894 to 1905, Floriana FC wore green and red shirts, black shorts, and green and red socks. In 1905, the club changed its official colours to what they are today: green and white striped shirts, white shorts, and green and white striped socks. This change happened after three friendly matches against the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. This army regiment was stationed in Floriana and wore green and white. After the last match, the teams swapped shirts. Floriana FC then decided to adopt the green and white colours. The regiment left Malta for India that same year. The connection between Floriana and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers was so strong that people from Floriana were nicknamed "Tal-Irish" (meaning "of the Irish").

The club's mascot is the lion. A lion has been on the club's badge since 1936. The badge also has a Latin saying, "Ex Ludis Virtus," which means "virtue out of the game." The lion on the badge shows the strength of the team and the good sportsmanship they aim for. The lion was chosen as the mascot for two historical reasons related to Floriana.

First, the lion is on the coat-of-arms of Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena. He was a leader of the Order of St. John. Vilhena planned the building of Floriana (which was first called Borgo Vilhena). This area was built to protect the capital city of Valletta from attacks by land. He also ordered a lion statue fountain to be built in Floriana's main square, St. Anne Square. This fountain is still there today.

Second, the lion is also linked to the statue of St. Publius. He is the patron saint of Floriana. The statue of St. Publius includes a lion. This shows how Publius was killed because of his Christian teachings.

The team won its first game on April 13, 1910. This was on the feast day of St. Publius. Some people believe this was a special sign of good luck.

Winning the League in 2020

On May 25, 2020, Floriana FC became champions of the BOV Premier League. This was their 26th league title and their first in 27 years. The football season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The health authority in Malta stopped all contact sports. In June 2020, the Malta Football Association decided that the teams at the top of their leagues would be declared champions. Because of this, Floriana was crowned league champions.

Floriana FC's Achievements

Since the Malta Football Association was founded in 1909, Floriana FC has won many awards. They have won a total of 108 honours. This includes 26 league titles and 21 Cup knockout competitions. The club has also achieved some amazing things. They won the league four times in a row. They also won the league and cup in the same season ten times. Once, they even won the league with the maximum possible points!

Playing in Europe

Floriana FC has played in many European football competitions. These are organized by UEFA, the European football body. Some of these competitions include:

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

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

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

Floriana FC has made it to the next round in two European competitions. This happened in the 1993–94 Champions Cup and the 1999–00 Intertoto Cup.

Youth Football Academy

In 1987, the club started its youth section, called Floriana FC Nursery (FFCN). This academy is part of the Malta Youth Football Association. The FFCN is one of the most successful youth football organizations in Malta. It has helped many talented young footballers develop their skills. The academy has also won many league titles in youth competitions. Some of their major wins include:

• U/14 Knockout competition in 2006–07
• U/14 League Champions – twice
• U/16 League Champions – six times, including four times in a row from 1993 to 1997
• U/18 League Champions – six times, including four times in a row from 1996 to 2000

Today, most 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

Floriana has had three main rivals throughout its history. These are 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 FC became very strong. This is now known as the "old firm rivalry." This rivalry was at its peak from 1922 until the late 1970s. During this time, both teams were the best in Maltese football. Matches between them were often very intense.

For a while, the rivalry with Sliema declined. But in 2017, Floriana won their 20th FA Trophy against Sliema. This made the rivalry exciting again. Floriana had won 9 FA Trophy finals against Sliema. The rivalry sparked again when Floriana won the FA Trophy for the 21st time against Valletta. This meant Floriana shared the record for most FA Trophy wins with Sliema. In the 2023–24 season, Sliema won the FA Trophy for the 22nd time. This made Sliema the most successful club in Malta with 118 major domestic trophies.

The rivalry against Valletta is still very strong. It is now considered the biggest match in the Maltese Premier League. It is one of the most classic 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. Matches between Floriana and Valletta always attract large crowds. Fans treat these games like cup finals.

Current Players

No. Position Player 1 GK Yann Fillion 2 DF Lucas López 5 MF Gerrard Rodgers 6 MF Antiago De Flavia 8 MF Jake Grech 10 MF Federico Varela 11 MF Zachary Scerri 12 MF Dunstan Vella 14 DF Eman Micallef 17 DF Owen Spiteri 19 FW Mustapha Jah

No. Position Player 21 DF Carlo Zammit Lonardelli 23 GK Guilherme Cioletti 24 MF Charles M'Mombwa 25 DF Gonzalo Gamarra 27 FW Todor Glišović 29 MF Quadri Allionida 34 DF Iago Mendonça 37 GK Reece Cutajar 70 FW Matthia Veselji 77 DF Aleandro Garzia 94 FW Rui Areias

Club Management and Staff

Administration Team

Past Managers

Name	Nat	From	To
Karim Bencherifa		1 July 2000	30 June 2002
Zijad Švrakić		2002	2004
Willie Vassallo		2004	2005
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	14 May 2025
Daniel Portela		1 July 2025

Club Honours and Trophies

Floriana FC has won many important titles:

• Maltese Premier League (Top League)
  • Champions (26 times) : 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
  • Second Place (14 times): 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, 2023–24
• Maltese FA Trophy
  • Champions (21 times): 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
  • Second Place (12 times): 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 times): 1993, 2017
  • Second Place (3 times): 1994, 2011, 2022
• Maltese First Division
  • Champions (1 time): 1985–86

See also

In Spanish: Floriana Football Club para niños