Birkirkara drawn against Hamrun Spartans

by Ivan Mizzi - 20th December 2011

Birkirkara FC were drawn to play against Hamrun Spartans in the fourth round of the U*BET FA Trophy. The draws were held during a press conference held today at the MFA's Centenary Hall, at Ta' Qali.

Mr. Bjorn Vassallo, the CEO of the MFA opened the conference by going through what happened in this competition so far. He went to say that now the competition has reached an important stage in the new format. He went on to say that everyone is giving positive feedback, not only from the Maltese teams but also the Gozistan teams and the public in general.

He continued by saying that from what we had seen so far even the teams from inferior divisions had the opportunity to experience a draw with a more quoted team. There were several teams from inferior divisions who drew with Premier League teams and this also served as an experience for the players. This even resulted in media coverage being given to the teams from the lower divisions.

He went on by saying that the competition has reached the fourth round and we have witnessed surprises from inferior teams that managed to qualify, such as a Gozitan team, while on the other hand there were Premier League clubs who are already eliminated.

He continued by saying that this continues to confirm that the new format of this competition had left a positive mark. The changes will not be for the men's competitions only but all competitions organised by the associations. These are presently being reviewed, with the aim that attendance will increase which will result in bigger financial income.

He then thanked this competition's man sponsor, U*BET ,for their continuous support and said that clubs will benefit financially even if they are eliminated at an early stage as every club is given money for participating in this competition.

In conclusion he wished the best of luck to everyone for the second major honour in Maltese football while he mentioned that the winner of this competition will qualify for the second round of the Europa League and this is the main target for all the clubs that do not have a chance to win the Premier League.

The 8 matches of the fourth round will be as follows:

Marsaxlokk vs Pieta Hotspurs
Mosta vs Xewkija Tigers
Mellieha vs Qormi
Sliema Wanderers vs Valletta
St. George's vs Lija Athletic
Birkirkara vs Hamrun Spartans
Rabat Ajax vs Hibernians
Balzan Youths vs Floriana

These matches are scheduled for Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd January 2012. The fixtures will be published in the coming days.

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