1996–97 Maltese Premier League

The 1996–97 Maltese Premier League was the 17th season of the Maltese Premier League, and the 82nd season of top-tier football in Malta. It was contested by 10 teams, and Valletta F.C. won the championship.

Maltese Premier League

Season	1996–97
Champions	Valletta (15th title)
Relegated	Rabat Ajax Lija Athletic
UEFA Champions League	Valletta
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Hibernians
UEFA Cup	Birkirkara
UEFA Intertoto Cup	Floriana
Matches played	135
Goals scored	432 (3.2 per match)
Top goalscorer	Danilo Dončić (32)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Teams

Birkirkara

Floriana

Ħamrun

Hibernians

Lija

Naxxar

Pietà

Rabat Ajax

Sliema

Valletta

Locations of the 1996–97 Maltese Premier League teams

League standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Valletta (C)	27	21	4	2	80	22	+58	67	Qualification for the UEFA Champions League
2	Birkirkara	27	18	6	3	46	21	+25	60	Qualification for the UEFA Cup
3	Floriana	27	16	5	6	56	28	+28	53	Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup
4	Sliema Wanderers	27	14	4	9	58	30	+28	46
5	Ħamrun Spartans	27	12	3	12	46	40	+6	39
6	Hibernians	27	10	7	10	39	38	+1	37	Qualification for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup[a]
7	Pietà Hotspurs	27	11	3	13	35	41	−6	36
8	Naxxar Lions	27	5	7	15	18	45	−27	22
9	Rabat Ajax (R)	27	5	3	19	32	73	−41	18	Relegation
10	Lija Athletic (R)	27	2	0	25	22	94	−72	6

Source: rsssf.com
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Hibernians qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Maltese FA Trophy Runners-up, as winners Valletta already qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

Results

Matches 1–18

Home \ Away	BKR	FRN	HIB	ĦMR	LJA	NXR	PTA	RBT	SLM	VLT
Birkirkara	—	3–1	1–1	0–0	3–0	3–1	1–0	0–0	3–2	1–0
Floriana	1–2	—	1–0	2–2	2–0	4–1	1–0	3–0	0–3	0–0
Hibernians	1–1	0–1	—	3–1	4–0	0–0	2–0	3–2	1–0	1–4
Ħamrun Spartans	1–2	1–3	1–1	—	6–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–4
Lija Athletic	1–2	0–7	0–3	0–3	—	0–2	1–2	1–5	2–4	1–8
Naxxar Lions	0–1	0–4	0–0	0–1	2–2	—	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–1
Pietà Hotspurs	0–1	0–5	2–0	3–0	1–2	1–0	—	3–1	1–2	0–3
Rabat Ajax	1–4	1–1	0–6	1–2	1–4	2–0	1–2	—	2–0	0–2
Sliema Wanderers	0–2	3–1	3–0	3–0	4–2	3–0	1–3	7–0	—	2–3
Valletta	2–0	1–2	3–0	3–0	5–2	5–1	6–2	4–1	1–1	—

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–27

Home \ Away	BKR	FRN	HIB	ĦMR	LJA	NXR	PTA	RBT	SLM	VLT
Birkirkara	—	—	—	—	—	4–2	—	4–1	1–0	1–3
Floriana	2–0	—	0–0	1–4	—	—	3–1	—	1–3	—
Hibernians	1–1	—	—	—	—	2–1	—	6–3	0–2	—
Ħamrun Spartans	0–3	—	3–0	—	4–0	0–1	—	—	—	1–2
Lija Athletic	0–2	1–5	2–3	—	—	—	2–5	—	—	—
Naxxar Lions	—	0–1	—	—	1–0	—	1–3	—	—	0–3
Pietà Hotspurs	0–0	—	2–1	1–0	—	—	—	0–1	1–1	—
Rabat Ajax	—	2–4	—	0–2	2–1	0–1	—	—	—	2–5
Sliema Wanderers	—	—	—	3–1	5–0	0–0	—	3–0	—	1–2
Valletta	—	0–0	4–0	—	3–0	—	3–1	—	—	—

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[1]
1	Danilo Dončić	Valletta	32
2	Stefan Sultana	Ħamrun Spartans	23
3	Gilbert Agius	Valletta	17
4	Hubert Suda	Sliema Wanderers	15
5	Ridha Dardouri	Lija Athletic	13
6	Brian Crawley	Hibernians	12
7	Carmel Busuttil	Sliema Wanderers	11
8	Jonathan Magri Overend	Birkirkara	10
9	Victor Egere	Floriana	9
	Kevin Mamo	Pietà Hotspurs