Centenary Stadium

Maltese football ground

35°53′48″N 14°24′56″E / 35.89667°N 14.41556°E / 35.89667; 14.41556OwnerGovernment of MaltaOperatorMalta Football AssociationCapacity3,000^[1]Field size100 m × 65 m (328 ft × 213 ft) ^[2]SurfaceArtificial turfOpened13 August 1999TenantsMalta national under-21 football team
Malta women's national football team
Maltese Premier League
Maltese Challenge League
Maltese National Amateur League

The Centenary Stadium (Maltese: il-Grawnd taċ-Ċentinarju) is a stadium located in Ta' Qali, Malta. The stadium, which is situated next to the National Stadium, houses the headquarters of the Malta Youth Football Association. It seats 3,000 and serves as the home stadium of the Malta national under-21 football team. The stadium, together with three other stadiums, also hosts matches of the Maltese Premier League, Maltese First Division and Maltese FA Trophy.

History

Background and early years

As early as back in 1985, the Malta Football Association was already looking to develop a new small stadium. This idea started to take shape on 11 October 1998, when the then President of Malta Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici laid the first stone of the stadium.^[2] The development, which consisted in the construction of a main stand and a canopy, lasted less than a year as on 13 August 1999 the stadium was inaugurated by Dr Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister of Malta, and Dr Joe Mifsud, the President of the Malta Football Association. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Malta Football Association, the stadium was named the "Centenary Stadium". Besides a seating capacity of 3,000, the main stand also included a VIP and press area. Like the National Stadium, the Centenary Stadium replaced another stadium renowned for the gravel surface, the Pace Grasso Stadium in Tarxien.

The first competitive match held at the stadium was a group-stage encounter of the now-defunct Maltese 2nd and 3rd Knockout between Birżebbuġa St. Peter's and Ghaxaq on 4 September 1999. The first goal was scored by Ghaxaq's Sandro Lapira on 34 minutes, which paved the way for a 2-1 win for his team.

Pitch Resurfacing

In 2007, the original pitch laid back in 1999^[3] was replaced by a new FIFA Two-Star artificial turf. The resurfacing costed Lm35,000 (€81,550) and was inaugurated on 23 July 2007.^[4]

In May 2017, the Malta Football Association announced that the stadium's pitch will be replaced by a new FIFA-quality pro pitch.^[5] The project, which also included the installation of new dug-outs and estimated to cost around €400,000, will mean that the stadium should now be able to host FIFA and UEFA matches.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ www.untangledmedia.com, Untangled Media-. "Malta-England... Tickets for local fans sell out in 10 days". MFA.
^ ^a ^b "The Centenary Stadium". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
^ "New artificial turf pitch installed by July". Times of Malta. 21 March 2007.
^ "FIFA Two-star turf at Centenary Stadium - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt.
^ www.untangledmedia.com, Untangled Media-. "Centenary Stadium to get new state-of-the-art pitch". MFA.