Graham Bencini (born 25 July 1976 in

Sliema Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. ...

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 ...

) is a Chartered Accountant, a member of Parliament in Malta and a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

where he played as a defender.

Professional career

Bencini obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management & Computing, an Honours Degree in Business Management, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Malta. He then went on to achieve a professional qualification with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in London, United Kingdom. Today he is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a member of the Malta Institute of Accountants, a member of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners, a Certified Public Accountant Warrant Holder and a registered Tax Practitioner.

Playing career

National Team

Bencini has 3 official caps with the Senior Malta National Football team having played three times for the Malta national team. Twice in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and Poland once in a Euro 2000 qualifier against

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. Bencini has also represented the Malta National Football team at U/21 Level.

Sliema Wanderers

Bencini began playing football when he was eight years old. He joined the

Sliema Wanderers Sliema Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed "tax-Xelin" ( of the shilling), is a professional Maltese football club. It is the most successful team in Malta and hails from the seaside town of Sliema. It currently plays in the Maltese Premier Leagu ...

nursery, where he stayed for ten years winning all youth championship honours during that time. At 18 years old, Graham was promoted to the senior team, and made his

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 ...

debut against

Naxxar Lions Naxxar Lions Football Club is a professional football club from the town of Naxxar in northern Malta. Their historical and arch-rivals are Mosta FC. A match between Naxxar Lions and Mosta FC, is known as the derby of the north, but because th ...

, during this time Bencini was also a member of the Malta U21 team. Despite only playing one game for Sliema Wanderers, Graham won a medal in his first professional season, with Sliema Wanderers been crowned champions for the 1995–96 season.

Naxxar Lions

With first team opportunities hard to come by at Sliema Wanderers, Bencini joined fellow Maltese Premier League side Naxxar Lions the following season. In his first season with Naxxar Lions, Bencini was voted as the Player of The Year, and made 22 appearances and even scored his first goal in the Maltese Premier League. The following season, Graham made 25 appearances and helped secure an eighth-place finish and another season in Premier League.

Birkirkara

For the 1998–99 season, Graham Bencini was signed by

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 ...

, upon joining

, Bencini was also selected for the first time to form part on the

national team under the guidance of Josep Ilic. Bencini stayed with Birkirkara for three seasons, making 65 appearances and winning three trophies, the Premier League ( 1999–00),

MFA Super 5 Lottery Tournament MFA may refer to: Organizations * Marine and Fisheries Agency, a former UK government executive agency * Ministry of Foreign Affairs (including a list of ministries with the name) * Movement of the Forces of the Future (), a political party in Cô ...

(1998) and the

Euro Challenge/Lowenbrau Cup The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 ...

(1998). He also got the chance to take part in two exhibition matches against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Ħamrun Spartans

For the 2001–02 season, Bencini left Birkirkara and joined fellow Premier League side Hamrun Spartans. Graham spent three seasons with the club, making 53 appearances and scoring two goals.

Sliema Wanderers

Following some good form with Hamrun Spartans, Bencini re-joined his home town club Sliema Wanderers in January 2004. He spent half a season with Sliema Wanderers, making five appearances, and winning his third Premier League, as well as the

Maltese Cup The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England and Italy, played in Rome in May 1 ...

and the MFA Super 5 Lottery Tournament.

Floriana

In May 2004, Bencini joined

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

for the 2004–05 season. Graham only made a total four appearances with Floriana due to an injury ravaged season where he spent most of the season in the treatment room.

Għajnsielem

Bencini then moved to join

Gozo Football League The Gozo Football League is a two-tier football competition for clubs on the Maltese island of Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Me ...

team

Għajnsielem Għajnsielem (; meaning "Spring of Sielem") is a municipality on the southeastern coast of the island of Gozo in Malta, including the entire island of Comino. It has a population of 3,200 residents (as of March 2014), and is the first Gozitan vil ...

for the 2005–06 season. A host of ex-Malta national team players were asked to join the club, and Graham was one of them, he was also joined by Maltese players

Daniel Bogdanovic Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the activi ...

, Richard Buhagiar and

David Carabott David Carabott (born 18 May 1968) is a former professional footballer who played for as a defender or midfielder. Born in Australia, he was capped 122 times for the Malta national team, making him second most capped player in Maltese football ...

. During his time with Għajnsielem, Graham won the Gozo Football League title.

Marsa

Graham returned to Malta for 2005–06 season, where he joined First Division team Marsa. In his first season Bencini achieved promotion back to the Premier League, after finishing in 2nd place. During his two-year career with Marsa, Bencini made 39 appearances and was also the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Post-retirement

Since his retirement Graham has played for Valletta FC Futsal Club in the Maltese futsal league.

Honours

Sliema Wanderers

Winner * 1995/96, 2003/04

* 2004

Birkirkara

Winner * 1999/00

* 1998

Għajnsielem

Winner * 2005

Political career

Following his retirement from sports, Bencini transitioned into the political arena, where he was one of the founders of the Forum for Professionals of the Partit Nazzjonalista (FPPN). He was elected to serve as the first president of the FPPN and was re-elected as president for 8 consecutive years. He relinquished his post when he was elected to serve as the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the Partit Nazzjonalista. Bencini contested the Malta General Election in 2022 where he was elected on the 10th district following a casual election. He was entrusted with the Sports and Public Broadcasting portfolio in the Bernard Grech's (Partit Nazzjonalista and Opposition leader) shadow cabinet. In January 2024, following a shadow cabinet reshuffle, Bencini was appointed as Shadow Minister for Finance. He is also a permanent member of the Public Accounts Committee and the Economic and Financial affairs committee, both being Parliamentary Committees.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bencini, Graham Living people 1976 births Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Naxxar Lions F.C. players Birkirkara F.C. players Hamrun Spartans F.C. players Floriana F.C. players Għajnsielem F.C. players Marsa F.C. players Tarxien Rainbows F.C. players Sportspeople from Sliema Men's association football defenders