Sliema Wanderers FC
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Sliema Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed "tax-Xelin" ( of the shilling), is a professional
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 Maltese ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club. It is the most successful team in
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 ...
and hails from the seaside town of
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. ...
. It currently plays in the
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 ...
.


History

The club was founded in 1909. The club competed in the first ever
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 ...
season in 1909–10 and finished in second position to
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 ...
after the five-game season came to an end. Ten years down the line Sliema Wanderers finally made their mark in Maltese football by winning the
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 ...
title in the 1919–20 season. Since then the team have gone on to win the title 26 times, a record for Malta; the last three being in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05. Sliema Wanderers also hold the record for the most
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
wins, with their first coming in 1935, when they overpowered
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 ...
with a 4–0 victory. The club have gone on to win this particular honour 20 times, most recently in 2000, 2004 and in
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
; the last title was won against
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 ...
7–6 on penalties after the match finished 3–3 following extra time. With all these honours, Sliema Wanderers are currently the most successful team in the history of
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 Maltese ...
football with approximately 113 honours. Sliema Wanderers train at the Tigne Sports Complex, in Sliema. Sliema Wanderers also had a futsal team, which participated in Malta's top futsal league.


2000s

The 2000s saw Sliema Wanderers becoming a dominant club in the Maltese scene again. Summer 2003 had President
Robert Arrigo Robert Arrigo (4 December 1954 – 18 October 2022) was a Maltese tourism operator and politician who served a member of the House of Representatives of Malta for the Nationalist Party from 2003 until his death in 2022. Between 2017 and 2022 he ...
signing Maltese internationals
Jamie Pace Jamie Pace MacDonald (born 1 January 1977) is a retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he played for the Malta national team at international level. Club career Pace joined Marsaxlokk in 2005 from Valletta, ...
,
Djibril Sylla Djibril Sylla (born 1 January 1980) is a retired professional footballer. Born in Guinea, he was capped at international level by Malta and during his career played for teams in Malta, Wales and France. Career Malta He joined Sliema Wanderers ...
and
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 ...
. Season 2004-05 saw the Wanderers, under the presidency of
Robert Arrigo Robert Arrigo (4 December 1954 – 18 October 2022) was a Maltese tourism operator and politician who served a member of the House of Representatives of Malta for the Nationalist Party from 2003 until his death in 2022. Between 2017 and 2022 he ...
, win their 26th Maltese Premier League title. Part of this success was Michael Mifsud's return to his boyhood club after being leaving 1.FC Kaiserslautern on a free. Season 2005-06 started with a
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
qualifier against
Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier o ...
. Much to Arrigo's chagrin, lost Michael Mifsud to
Lillestrøm SK Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club based in the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club was founde ...
, in a move made possible by
Nikki Dimech Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Nikki (singer), Japanese-American singer Nikki Lee * Nikki (Malaysian singer), Nikki Palikat (born 1985), a finalist in the first season of ''Malaysian Idol'' * Nigar Jamal (born 1980) or Nik ...
who acted as his representative, albeit being a lengthy transfer saga that was complicated by International Transfer Clearance issues and compensation fees.


2010s

Sliema Wanderers clinched a Maltese FA Trophy in season 2015-16. Keith Perry was confirmed as president in the beginning of season 2016-17 despite rumours. John Buttigieg was appointed as Head Coach.


2020s

The club endured a rough start to the 2020s. The club started off with a bang, signing former
Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...
midfielder Denílson. Further players were signed and Keith Perry was appointed chairman of the club, and Jeffrey Farrugia took over as president. A sponsorship deal was struck with Catco Group, an oil investment company based in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
. Catco Group however, failed to pay its dues, citing technical reasons. This gave way to unrest within the club, with captain Mark Scerri and head coach Andrea Pisanu making public statements regarding the financial situation of the club, proceeding with resignations such as Perry and team manager Alex Muscat. Players went unpaid for months, with another sponsor, Sixt, finally paying the players directly just before Christmas. Eventually a new sponsor was brought on board. Farrugia was later ousted as Keith Perry returned in the President's seat in preparation for the upcoming season. Season 2021-22 was disastrous from a technical point of view. Despite signing two new players in
Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...
international Warsama Hassan and Japanese Yuki Uchida, up until 19 November 2021, the club had not yet won a match, and sat at the bottom of the Maltese Premier League. The first win came on 20 November, stunning
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 ...
with a 2–1 result. The dying minutes of the match however, proved fatal, as Warsama Hassan was introduced at 90 minutes. However, the player had just returned from
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, where he had featured for his
Djibouti national football team The Djibouti national football team, nicknamed the "Riverains de la Mer Rouge" (), is the national football team of Djibouti. It is controlled by the Djiboutian Football Federation and is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ...
in a match against
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
. Warsama was supposed to be in quarantine, having returned from a Dark Red listed country. Valletta lodged a formal complaint, which was upheld by the
Malta Football Association The Malta Football Association (MFA; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Malta. The Association organises the Maltese Football League for both men and women and several other competitions, including knockout competitions ...
, awarding a 3–0 win to Valletta. Sliema Wanderers' next match was against
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 t ...
, resulting in a further loss. On 10 April 2022 Sliema Wanderers lost against
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 ...
with a 2–1 result, and were relegated to
Maltese Challenge League The Maltese Challenge League (referred to as the Bank of Valletta, BOV Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division in Football in Malta, Maltese football, behind the Maltese Premier League. The First Division was th ...
after thirty-seven years in the top flight.


Players


Current squad

''As of 4 September 2024.''


Out on loan


European record


Managerial history

''See
Sliema Wanderers F.C. Managers Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the most densely populated town on ...
''


Honours


Statistics


Domestic

Post-
WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
season-by-season performance of the club:


References


External links

* * * * {{Maltese football Football clubs in Malta 1909 establishments in Malta Association football clubs established in 1909