A new league season gets underway today at the Ta’ Qali national stadium and it seems evident that it should be one of the most interesting, if not entertaining, campaigns of the past few seasons.

Several clubs, including the two promoted teams, have strengthened their ranks considerably and it is obvious that there will be a big battle for the honours this season.

From what has been done in the summer transfer market, I firmly believe that it will be not just Valletta and Birkirkara this year who will battle it out for the title. In fact, I consider Sliema, Floriana and Hibernians to be well equipped to offer a very strong challenge. Qormi Marsaxlokk, Hamrun S., Tarxien Rainbows and Vittoriosa Stars have also strengthened their ranks considerably and should offer strong opposition to the top teams on their day.

The campaign starts in earnest this afternoon with the Qormi-Hamrun S. and Floriana-Hibernians clashes. Tomorrow, Tarxien take on promoted Marsaxlokk while Valletta face the other promoted side Vittoriosa Stars. The first programme comes to an end on Monday with the so-called top clash between Sliema Wanderers and defending champions Birkirkara.

Qormi and Hamrun will start the ball rolling this afternoon.

The Yellow Blacks are now under the charge of coach Stephen Azzopardi after Jesmond Zerafa left near the end of last season to join Valletta FC.

The team has lost the services of their two main strikers last season, Camilo and Effiong, and it is yet to be seen whether their substitutes will prove to be as effective as the previous two. Their main signings were Cleaven Frendo, Jonathan Bondin and Stefan Giglio from Valletta, Ben Camilleri from Hibernians and Matthew Bartolo from Sliema.

On their part, Hamrun have been strengthened with the return of Ryan Fenech and David Camilleri in midfield. Moreover, they have also acquired the services of international Massimo Grima, who was on the books of Qormi the past season.

No one expects the Spartans to be among the title chasers, but they will certainly be no pushovers.

The second match this afternoon, between Floriana and Hibernians, should be more interesting.

Here one will be able to assess whether the performances of the two teams in the pre-season were just a fluke. From what has been seen in these early matches, it is obvious that the clubs have made some very good signings, especially with regards to foreign players.

In Scottish striker Paul McManus, Hibernians seem to have a top goal-scorer. In fact, he has been scoring freely in pre-season matches and has left a very good impression, being already labelled by some as the most talented signing by any club during the close season. Their other newcomers include Matthew Clarke, Simon Johnson, Richard Hart and former Tarxien striker Warren Chircop.

On their part, Floriana have been very active in the summer transfer market and they made a number of signings which should lift the club from the wilderness of the past seasons. The Greens have made no fewer that nine new acquisitions, especially foreigners, but also Ivan Woods, a former Valletta and Sliema international striker, who should improve the club’s strike force in no small measure. The others include former Msida central defender Tyrone Farrugia and the return of Manolito Micallef and Christian Cassar, not to mention the four foreigners.

Tarxien lost two of their Brazilians of last season. Ribeiro has gone away while Denni Rocha dos Santos has moved to Valletta. But they have more Brazilians among their ranks this season, among them well known Daniel Mariano Bueno who is back after one season in Polish football. His goal-scoring talents are bound to be one of the attractions of the competition this season. Among the local newcomers are Julian Vella, Orosco Anonam and Justin Grioli.

Marsaxlokk are back in the Premier League and after what the club went through the previous season, it is now evident that they will be doing their very best – not only to stay where they obviously belong, but also to earn the right to play in European football if that chance becomes a possibility.

They have been strengthened with the signings of Alcorse, Effiong, Eboh and Guerriero.

Valletta should prove to have a lot of guns to beat newly promoted Vittoriosa Stars tomorrow.

The citizens have changed their foreigners completely and the newcomers, Omonigho Temile, Denni Rocha dos Santos and Joseph Okonkwo in attack and Ramon dos Santos in defence, should prove to be more successful than those paraded last season. Also, the citizens have acquired the services of international central defender Jonathan Caruana from Hibernians.

Valletta have made their title ambitions very clear and coach Jesmond Zerafa seems to have the right blend to keep the side at the top from start to finish.

Vittoriosa have made a bold effort to strengthen the side so that they will not serve as a cushion for the other clubs. Among a host of acquisitions are Mauro Brincat, Elton Vella, Dino Cachia, Simon Agius, Sharlon Pace, Stephen Wellman and Anthony Ewurum. Together with their foreigners, they could possibly spring more than one surprise.

On Monday evening, Sliema and Birkirkara face off in the first real top match of the competition.

The Stripes’ best signing was that of footballer of the year Shaun Bajada who was convinced to stay with them. The team has lost striker Sylvano Comvalius but newcomer Emiliano Lattes, formerly of Msida, should prove to be a reliable substitute.

They also have a new goalkeeper in Ezequiel Lovizon and a new Scottish defender partnering Serbian Vukanac. These signings should make the side even stronger than it was last season, even though coach Paul Zammit would have liked to see the team playing better in the recent pre-season matches, after their successful performances in the Champions League preliminary stages.

But the decisions of the MFA’s Control and Discilinary Board (see story below), will be a tough obstacle to surmount as they start the defence of their hard-won title.

On their part, Sliema were perhaps the most active on the transfer market, signing five new foreigners and some locals who should give a big boost to coach Mark Marlow and the Blues clan in general.

Sliema are also aiming for the title this season. They have lost Ian Azzopardi and Ivan Woods, but they still seem to be a powerful side with new goalie Szentepeteri from Hungary inspiring confidence all the way. Among the local arrivals are Steve Bezzina, James Paris and Julian Briffa.