Clayton Failla (born 8 January 1986) is a Maltese 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 ...

who plays for

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 ...

side Mosta FC, where he plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and occasionally as a defender.

Playing career

St. Patrick

Failla was born in

Żabbar Żabbar ( ), also known as Città Hompesch, is a city in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. It is the seventh largest city in the country, with an estimated population of 15,648 as of January 2021. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar ...

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 ...

. He began his career with his boyhood team Żabbar St. Patrick as a trainee. In 2001–02 he was promoted to the senior team squad, getting three games as a substitute. He was a first team regular when the team won promotion in 2003–04. He made his Premier Division debut during the 2004–05 season. Failla showed potential, despite St. Patrick's disappointing season,. In January 2005, Failla moved to Hibernians. During his time with St. Patrick, he made 33 appearances and scored two goals.

Hibernians

Failla continued the second half of the 2004–05 season with Hibernians, and played in their first team squad. Failla helped his new side to a third-place finish in the Maltese Premier League, making 11 appearances and scoring one goal in the process. Failla began the 2005–06 season as an established member of the first team squad. Hibernians managed their second third-place finish in as many seasons. Failla did however get his hands on his first piece of silverware with Hibernians as the club won 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 ...

, after beating

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 ...

1–0 in the final. During the season Failla made 23 appearances and scored one goal. For the 2006–07 season Failla made 22 appearances, but failing to find the net, as the team recorded a fifth-place finish in the Maltese Premier League. Failla did however add to his previous success as Hibernians beat

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 ...

on penalties to retain the Maltese Cup. Failla made 22 appearances and scored twice in the 2007–08 season. In the 2008–09 season, Hibernians won the Maltese Premier League for the first time in seven years, after beating

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 ...

to the top table finish by one point. During the season Failla made 27 appearances, scored seven goals and provided 11 assists. He was chosen as Man of the Match nine times during the season, most for any Premier Division player. Failla also added to his honours the

Maltese Player of the Year The Maltese Player of the Year Award is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in Football in Malta, Maltese football. The award has been presented since the 1954–55 Maltese Premier League, 1954–55 ...

award.

Sliema Wanderers

On 17 June 2009, Failla made the move from Hibernians to

and was allocated the number 77 shirt. He made his Premier League debut for Sliema Wanderers on 30 August 2009 in a 1–0 defeat to

Qormi Qormi (, , ), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), making it Malta's fifth-la ...

, he played 77 minutes of the match, before been substituted for Matthew Bartolo. Failla scored his first Premier League goal for Sliema Wanderers on 17 October 2009, when he scored the third goal in a 5–0 victory over

Ħamrun Spartans Ħamrun Spartans Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in Ħamrun. Since being founded in 1907, Ħamrun Spartans have won 11 league championships, the latest one being in 2025, while being runners-up eleven times. One of t ...

Hibernians

On 9 August 2011, Failla returned to his former club Hibernians, for the 2011–12 season of the Maltese Premier League. Failla had a trial with

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

of England, playing for the team in a summer tournament. Failla is also the current captain of Hibernians.

Floriana

On 28 May 2017, Clayton was officially announced as a signing for the Maltese Premier League Club Floriana. Failla thanked Hibernians for the past experience with the Paolites whilst looking forward for his experience with the Greens.

International career

Failla was also an international player for the

Malta national football team The Malta national football team () represents Malta in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta. The first official game played by Malta ...

. He made his international debut in 2008 and played in defence but sometimes also played as a midfielder. In 2014, in a friendly match Malta against Slovakia, he became a famous meme, because the system sound of the stadium played Numb, from

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

, instead of Malta National Anthem and the cameras got him laughing with the music. Failla played his final match for Malta in a 1-1 draw at home to the Faroe Islands, ending a 10-year journey with the national team.

Career statistics

International goals

Honours

Club

Hibernians *

: 2008–09, 2014–15 *

Maltese FA Trophy The FA Trophy, currently known as the Meridianbet FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football (soccer), football cup competition that takes place in Malta. The cup was founded in 1933; following a match between England national footba ...

: 2006–07, 2007–08,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14

Individual

: 2008–09, 2011–12

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Failla, Clayton Living people 1986 births People from Żabbar Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Żabbar St. Patrick F.C. players Hibernians F.C. players Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Floriana F.C. players Birkirkara F.C. players Hamrun Spartans F.C. players Maltese Premier League players Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Malta