| Full name | Swieqi United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | United The Men in Orange The Orange |
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| Founded | 2009 | ||
| Ground | Luxol Stadium, Saint Andrew's, Malta (Capacity: 5,000) |
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| Coach | Roland Sollars | ||
| League | Maltese Third Division | ||
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Swieqi United Football Club is a Maltese football club representing the municipality of Swieqi. The club was created by a group of University Students and Swieqi residents. Founded in 2009, the club enjoys a good fan-base especially amongst young people on the island. The team plays in Orange shirts (a fusion of the red and yellow of Swieqi) and use grey as the away kit. The club's coach for the 2009-2011 seasons was Roberto Debrincat who against all expectations managed to lead Swieqi to 8th out of 10th in 2009-2010 and 6th out of 11th in 2010-11. The club is renowned for giving young players the opportunity to play football and the club's symbol is the Owl - a reference to the students who founded Swieqi United F.C. The club is registered with the Malta Football Association and is registered with the Malta Sports Council.
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The name is not only popular but also acts as a symbol. "The town of Swieqi, the village of Ta' l-Ibrag and the hamlet of Madliena have all merged hence UNITED into one team: Swieqi United FC". The 3 colours on the new crest (yellow, red and blue) represent these 3 entities which we will be proudly representing in the nearby future. The badge itself is primarily made up of Swieqi's colours. Modelled on the Swieqi Coat of arms it incorporates the red and yellow (merged into orange) symbolising the valleys and fields of Ta' l-Ibrag and Madliena. The blue and white represent the waterflow, the 'saqa' which gives its name to our beloved town
For many years, people were surprised that such a locality, with a population of over 8,000 people didn't have a football team. However, it was always a question of 'when' rather than 'if' and the youths of Swieqi were always determined to make sure Swieqi was represented in the National Football League.
The club were approved unanimously by the Council of the Malta Football Association on Thursday, 28 May 2009 and the addition of Swieqi meant that the number of clubs in Division 3 increased to 20 as Qrendi and Mtarfa who placed last in Sections A and B respectively both re-applied and were approved. Swieqi would start competing in 2009-10.
The club's main colour was chosen to be orange since no other team in Malta uses this colour and Swieqi United are a very elegant and up market football team.
The 14th of April 2009, will certainly go down in the history of Swieqi United FC as its first ever committee was chosen to represent what will hopefully be a fruitful and interesting future.
On the 24th of June, 2009, the acting committee held the first ever Annual General Meeting at 119, Triq il-Qasam, Swieqi. Club President Ralph Agius Fernandez, Secretary Michael Calleja and Vice-President Gavin Ellul addressed the members of the club and described the work that had been done, together with the objectives and future projects. The nominations for the committee were also held, and thus the official committee for the 2009/2010 MFA season was announced.
On the 28th of June, 2009, Roberto Debrincat was confirmed as Swieqi United's first ever manager.
On the 13th of July, 2009, Swieqi United took part in the first MFA 3rd Division draws of their history. The new club was pitted against Zejtun Corinthians FC, Naxxar Lions FC, Gudja United FC, Attard FC, Xghajra Tornadoes FC, Qrendi FC, Sirens FC, Kirkop United FC and Santa Lucija FC.
The Orange were scheduled to play their historic, first-ever league match against the club from the seaside village of Xghajra.
The Quick Keno Division II/III Knock-Out draws were held on Tuesday, 21 July 2009. Swieqi United were drawn against Gudja United FC, Gzira United FC and Zebbug Rangers FC in Group 1.
Swieqi registered its first ever victory on the 18th of August 2009, in a friendly game vs Kirkop United. Daniel Bianco and Brian Grech scored in a 2-1 win.
Swieqi gained its first ever point in the Quick KENO Knockout on Saturday 12 September 2009. Trailing 0-3 against Gzira, Swieqi managed to score 3 goals and could have added a fourth in the final minutes. It was a dramatic end to a pulsating encounter.
Despite being their first season, Swieqi managed to register some positive wins throughout the campaign. On October 1, 2009 at the Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Swieqi played their first game in the BOV Third Division against Xghajra Tornadoes, winning the game 3-2. The support pushed the team on to claim a marvellous victory on their league debut. Notable wins included 3-1 vs Gudja, 4-0 vs Santa Lucia and 4-3 vs Qrendi. Also, Swieqi played some excellent football but were unlucky to lose 0-1 against table-toppers Naxxar Lions. Swieqi ended the 2009-10 season in 8th place with 16 points.
Swieqi United started the 2010-11 campaign quite promisingly. Contrary to the previous campaign, the KO Quick Keno Competition proved to be much more fruitful as Swieqi lost 0-2 to Senglea Athletic and registered draws against Santa Venera and Gharghur. The league campaign also got off to a very good start with Swieqi registering 3 wins from the first four matches propelling them into second place in the league by the end of October. However, a series of injuries and suspensions were coupled with a bad run which saw the club lose 3 matches on the trot sliding down the table. Nevertheless, some changes were made to the squad and the Christmas period proved to be more satisfying as Swieqi won the Noel Muscat Cup vs Pembroke Athleta (3-1) and were unlucky to lose the Strickland Cup 2-4 on penalties against Mtarfa.
A nightmarish end to 2010 was put to bed as 2011 kicked off with some good performances most notably a good 2-2 draw against Attard, wins against Qrendi and Mtarfa and a record 8-0 victory against Xghajra. A 1-0 win against Santa Lucija was enough to ensure Swieqi consolidated a mid-table position in the league standings.
Swieqi United ended the 2010-11 season in the 6th place (out of 11) with 25 points.
At the end of the season, Edward Vella was crowned 'Club Player of the year', with goaler Ryan Marmara 'Most improved player of the year, Captain John Debono won the 'Players Player of the Year' whilst Christopher Dalli won 'Most dedicated player of the season'
Swieqi United's current home kit consists of an orange shirt, with black shorts and orange socks whilst the away strip consists of a grey top with black shorts and socks. The second kit's grey in colour. A third is also occasionally used and it consists of a blue top. Swieqi's kits are manufactured by Sportika SA.
Since 2009, Swieqi United FC represents the municipality of Swieqi which incorporates the following areas: Swieqi proper, Ibrag and Madliena, together with High Ridge, Upper Gardens and Victoria Gardens. The total area population is about 9,000 people.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| President: | Dr. Justin Fenech | Maltese |
| Vice President/Club Delegate | Gavin Ellul | Maltese |
| Vice-President | Roger Strickland Jr. | Maltese |
| General Secretary | Michael Calleja | Maltese |
| Events Co-Ordinator | Robert Dingli | Maltese |
| Treasurer | Ms. Christine Scholz | German |
| Member | Ralph Agius Fernandez | Maltese |
| MFA Council Observer | Mauro Miceli | Maltese |
| Member | Hani Arebi | Maltese |
| Member | Jordan Bonello | Maltese |
| Member | Simon Zammit | Maltese |
The current squad: Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Manager: | Roland Sollars | English |
| Assistant Manager: | Daniel McKean | English |
| Goalkeeping Coach: | George Edwards | Maltese |
| Kit Manager: | Robert Dingli | Maltese |
| Club Doctor: | Dr. David Sladden | Maltese |
| First Team Physician: | Sandro Vella | Maltese |
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