Jake Grech (born 18 November 1997) is a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

professional footballer currently playing with

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

in the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta ( colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Associ ...

Club career

Ħamrun Spartans

Jake Grech rose through the ranks of

Ħamrun Spartans Hamrun (; ) is a town in the 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 carry a knife') or as ' ...

, and debuted with the team in the

Maltese First Division The Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division in Maltese football, behind the Maltese Premier League. The First Division was the precursor of the present Premier ...

. Grech was a protagonist in Ħamrun Spartans' return from all the way down the

Maltese Second Division The Maltese Second Division (also known as the BOV Second Division due to sponsorship reasons) was the third-highest division in Maltese football until 2020 when it was merged with the Maltese Third Division to create the National Amateur Le ...

and re-establishment of the Spartans in the

. Grech was a regular goalscorer and assistman for the Spartans.

Birkirkara

Grech's displays led to interest growing in him over the months. In June 2017, Grech was transferred to

Birkirkara F.C. Birkirkara Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Birkirkara, on the island of Malta. The club was formed in 1950, following the amalgamation of Birkirkara United and Birkirkara Celtic. Birkirkara currently play in ...

for a record fee of €120,000. Part of Grech's deal saw defender Daniel Zerafa move to Ħamrun. Grech officially signed for Birkirkara on 18 June 2017.

Balzan

On 21 June 2023, Grech signed a contract with

Balzan Balzan ( mt, Ħal Balzan) is a municipality in the Central Region of Malta, one of the so-called three villages, together with Attard and Lija. The village originally consisted of a group of small dwellings and farms but eventually grew, beco ...

Floriana

On 26th January, 2024, Grech left Balzan and signed a contract with

, having been swapped with Jan Busuttil, who signed for Balzan.

International career

Grech has represented Malta in various youth categories, such as the

Malta national under-17 football team The Malta national under-17 football team represents Malta in international football competitions such as the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, as well as any other under-17 international football tournaments. It is go ...

, the

Malta national under-19 football team The Malta national under-19 football team is the under-19 football team of Malta. It is controlled by the Malta Football Association The Malta Football Association (MFA; mt, Assoċjazzjoni tal-Futbol ta' Malta) is the governing body of footba ...

and the

Malta national under-21 football team The Malta national under-21 football team is the under-21 football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. The team is sponsored by Givova. Competitive record UEFA European Under-21 Championship Current squad ...

. He was instrumental in various matches and showed great promise, at times being decisive for his side. Upon being promoted as National Team manager,

Ray Farrugia Raymond "Żażu" Farrugia (born 1 October 1955 in Floriana, Malta) is a football coach and former player He had been the head coach for the Malta national football team from 2 May 2018. to the end of 2019. Club career Ray Farrugia started ou ...

decided call up Jake Grech to the senior squad, amongst other players. In fact, Grech's first match with the

Malta national football team The Malta national football team ( mt, Tim nazzjonali tal-futbol ta' Malta) represents Malta in international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta. The first official game pla ...

was against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

in a match that ended in a draw.

Style of play

During the team's spell in the lower divisions, Grech received a lot of playing time which helped him develop into a goal-scoring offensive-minded midfielder.

Personal life

Jake is the son of former

star Marco Grech. Jake's brother Luke Grech is also a professional footballer, who also came up through

's youth set up.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grech, Jake 1997 births Living people Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Ħamrun Spartans F.C. players Birkirkara F.C. players Maltese Premier League players Malta men's under-21 international footballers Malta men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders