Top-flight clubs to play up to 11 matches in five weeks
Malta Premier League teams are facing a ‘crazy’ schedule in the next few weeks as they will be forced to play between ten and 11 matches in the next five weeks.
All Premier League teams will have to play a match every three days, providing little time to recover and, of more concern, increasing the likelihood of players picking up injuries.
The Malta Premier League said that this fixture congestion is the result of the cancellation of the Opening matchday last August to allow Ħamrun Spartans to prepare for their UEFA Conference League Play-Off tie against Latvia’s RFS.
Added to that, the Jubilee Cup was held over four weekends between October and December, forcing league matches to be moved backwards, as well as the March international window that will provide the national team two weeks to prepare for their UEFA Nations League play-off against Luxembourg next month.
Nisevic: ‘Everyone is stretched to the limit’
Hibernians coach Branko Nisevic described his team’s fixture schedule as “crazy,” and said it is something clubs have been facing throughout the whole season.
“When a team is playing twice in a week, there is a 500 per cent chance that a player will pick up an injury,” the Serbian coach told the Times of Malta.
“The chances of injury for players are very high, and given the huge investments all clubs make throughout the season, it’s a risk that we should not put ourselves in.
“This is an ongoing situation that started at the start of the season. In September, we played five games in 15 days, while in October, when the Jubilee Cup started, we had five matches in 19 days.
“Everyone involved is stretched to its limit, not just coaches and players but also match officials and media; the situation is very tough for everyone.”
Potenza flags pitch problems
On his part, Marsaxlokk coach Enzo Potenza shared Nisevic’s fears that such a hectic playing schedule is increasing the likelihood of many injuries; however, he believes the problem goes far beyond that.
“Having so many matches being played in a short span of time has forced me to rethink the way I work with my players,” Potenza said.
“Being forced to play a match every three days, I felt that it was also very important to give time to my players to recover physically, and therefore I made sure that they had more time to recover physically than to work on the training pitch.
“Another major challenge that we are facing in this congestion of fixtures is that we have to play on different surfaces continuously in a very short span of time, and that can be detrimental to the well-being of the players.
“The conditions of pitches from one stadium to the other are different, and I’m talking not just the ones we use to play but also the venues where we train.
“I believe that such problems can only be tackled if all the stakeholders sit down around a table and see ways to improve the conditions of local football, putting the interest of the Maltese ahead of their personal ones.”
Abdilla: Players risk burn out
Gżira United coach Darren Abdilla does not doubt that such a congestion of fixtures is detrimental to the quality of football every team expresses.
“When you are playing so many matches in a short span of time, it’s clear that the performance levels will be negatively affected,” Abdilla said.
“The speed in decision-making, the reaction, as well as the technical execution of every player, is negatively affected.
“A player might still be physically fit to play the match, but mentally he could be tired, with the result that he will be playing at a slower pace and is less sharp. That could easily result in more individual errors and the team conceding more late goals.
“Players are seriously risking ending up burned out.
“From a coaching perspective, tactical development suffers as there is less training time, as one has to prioritise more recovery sessions instead of development sessions.
That means that you have less time to correct mistakes from previous matches, and it makes it harder to maintain a consistent playing style.
“In the long term, such a hectic playing schedule could lead to more chronic injuries and shorter peak performance years for the players.”
Premier League: Clubs agreed to schedule
Alan Abela, the chairman of Il-Kampjonat Ltd, the organisers of the Malta Premier League, said that the fixtures calendar was agreed in full by all Premier League clubs together with the MFA, before the start of the season.
“There was full agreement between all Premier League clubs, the Malta FA and Il-Kampjonat Malta Ltd on the fixture calendar, so this is not something that was imposed midway through the campaign,” Abela told the Times of Malta.
“I fully understand that the congestion clubs are currently facing, especially due to several midweek fixtures, is far from ideal. However, this situation is mainly the result of two specific factors.
“Firstly, the League cancelled the opening matchday to give Ħamrun Spartans adequate time to prepare for their UEFA Conference League playoff. With hindsight, that decision clearly proved to be the right one, and the outcome speaks for itself.
“Secondly, the Jubilee Cup was played across four weekends. Had those weekends not been used for the Jubilee Cup, the league programme would have been significantly lighter and more spread out.
“In addition, in agreement with the Malta Football Association, no league fixtures will be played on March21 and 22, to allow the FA sufficient preparation time for the important playoff match against Luxembourg.”
Asked whether an extension of the Malta Premier League season could have been put on the agenda to ease the teams’ fixtures backlog, Abela said that it was impossible.
“The FA Trophy final is scheduled for May 24, which is the weekend immediately before the June National Team window begins,” Abela said.
“Because of this, an extension of the league was not possible, even considering that, in the event of a Final Four, the final would be played on May 16, 2026.
“Any further extension would have clashed directly with international commitments.”
Abela said that it is the MPL’s intention to hold a meeting with all Premier Division coaches next month to discuss the issues they faced this season.
“We intend to hold a meeting with all Premier Division coaches during March,” Abela said.
“The aim is to listen directly to the issues they have faced this season and ensure their input is taken on board when planning the calendar for next season.
“Fixture congestion is something we need to continue improving on collectively, but it is important to look at the full context and constraints within which the calendar operates.”