Champions Valletta FC will start the defence of their title with a match against Tarxien Rainbows.
The draws for the Bank of Valletta Premier, First, Second and Third Divisions were made yesterday at the Bank’s headquarters in St Venera.
In other top matches on the first weekend of the competition, Sliema W, were drawn to face Hibernians, while Birkirkara will be up against Qormi.
Floriana, second placed last season, will start with a match against newly promoted Mqabba. The two other newly promoted clubs, Balzan Y. and Mosta will be facing Hamrun S. and Marsaxlokk respectively.
For the first time ever, the Premier League is being contested by 12 teams. It is to be played over two rounds in the first phase. That will be followed by the splitting of the teams in a Championship Pool (top six) and a Relegation Pool (bottom six). At the end, the winners of the Championship Pool will be declared Malta champions, while the last two in the Relegation Pool will be demoted to the First Division.
The matches are to be played at Ta’ Qali national stadium, the Hibernians Stadium at Corradino and the Victor Tedesco Stadium in Hamrun. Matches are to be played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays – two on each day. Each team will be playing 32 matches each – a grand total of 192 games. The League starts on 16 August and comes to an end on 13 May 2012.
The First Division - also with 12 teams – is to be played over two rounds. This means that teams will be playing 22 games each – a total of 132 matches. The venues will be the Victor Tedesco Stadium and the Luxol Ground.
The competition starts on 9 September and comes to an end on 13 May 2012.
The Second and Third Divisions are to be contested by 28 teams – 14 in each division. The Second Division starts on 16 September while the Third Division starts on 18 September. They come to an end on 12 and 13 May 2012 respectively.
The teams will play each other over two rounds. There will be no morning matches and the venues will be as follows:
Third Division at Centenary Stadium, Luxol Stadium, Mosta Ground, Rabat Ground and later on Sirens Ground (when it becomes available).
Second Division at Centenary Stadium, Luxol Stadium, Mosta Ground and later on Sirens Ground (when it becomes available).
In the Second Division, two teams will be promoted to the First Division and three are to be relegated to the Third Division. Three teams will be promoted from the Third to the Second Division.
The following is the sequence of matches for each club in the Premier League (alphabetical order):
BALZAN YOUTHS FC: Hamrun S., Qormi, Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Floriana, Valletta, Tarxien R.
BIRKIRKARA FC: Qormi, Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Floriana, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S.
FLORIANA FC: Mqabba, Tarxien R., Sliema W., Hamrun S., Marsaxlokk, Qormi, Birkirkara, Mosta, Balzan Y., Hibernians, Valletta.
HAMRUN S.: Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Floriana, Qormi, Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara.
HIBERNIANS: Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Qormi, Mosta, Floriana, Mqabba.
MARSAXLOKK: Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Floriana, Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Qormi.
MOSTA: Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Qormi, Floriana, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W.
MQABBA: Floriana, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Qormi, Mosta, Hibernians.
QORMI: Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Floriana, Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk.
SLIEMA W.: Hibernians, Mqabba, Floriana, Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Valletta, Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Qormi, Mosta.
TARXIEN R.: Valletta, Floriana, Hamrun S., Qormi, Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Balzan Y.
VALLETTA: Tarxien R., Hamrun S., Qormi, Mosta, Hibernians, Mqabba, Sliema W., Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Balzan Y., Floriana.