Season 2008/2009
Grand Prix of Milton Keynes (UK) - Mar'09
Six Maltese players participated to the UK Grand Prix held in Milton Keynes. Massimo Cremona, Derek Conti, Hansel Mallia and Mark Gauci where scattered in different groups in the open category, Joe Mifsud set in the Veteran category and Angelo Borg participated for both the Under 15 and the Under 19 category.
In the open event held on Saturday, twelve groups of four were set from which all Maltese players won their group. This led to the direct elimination contrast to whom Mallia was the first to loose to Belgian Laurent Coucke on shoot outs after a 1-1 tight match in the barrage stage. Conti, Gauci and Cremona held on and kept their march to reach semi final stages. An impressive performance in the Quarters from Conti after turning in favour a 2-0 defeat to a 3-2 win against British Chris Thomas in the Quarters.
In the semi finals, Gauci faced Spanish Angel Valverde while the other semi was a Maltese encounter with Conti facing Cremona to assure a Maltese in the final. Gauci lost in shots against Valverde after a 1-1 match while Cremona went on beating his compatriot 2-0 to gain another International final. In the final, valverde had the most of the game with a persistent possession with Cremona scoring twice in his rare ball possession. After the match was held tight 2-1, extra time was insufficient with shoot outs going in favour of the Spanish leaving the Maltese in second place.
In the Veteran category, Mifsud only managed Quarter finals after winning his group and loosing to another Spanish player Juan Carlos Granados 2-1. Italian’s Massimo Ballotti won this competition against Granados 1-0 after extra time.
In the U/19, Angelo Borg reached semis but lost to Juan Ros 6-3. However, he had a better performance in the U/15 were after winning his group he went on beating his opponents to reach final. At this stage he faced Germany’s young talent Marcel Kwiatkowski but the Maltese was in form and went on winning this encounter 3-1.
On Sunday in the Team event, Mallia captained the Belgian side of AS Hennuyer being the only Maltese to play in the team event. After winning the goup, Hennuyer went on winning Spanish side of Turia and in the final faced another Belgian side Stembert with AS Murcia reached the semis. In this Belgian derby, Mallia was of constant motivation scoring twice within few minutes to inspire his team mates and went on winning this derby 2-0 to obtain another team victory.

During the first weekend of Match, seven Maltese players participated to the Major of Mons, Belgium. Massimo Cremona, Mark Gauci, Joe Borg Bonaci,
On Saturday, the Maltese players were involved along with their clubs for which, Mifsud and Aquilina, playing for Palermo failed qualification from the group stages, Mallia, along with the home side of AS Hennuyer lost in quarter final, Borg Bonaci lost in the semis with his Greek team of Falcons Athens, while Gauci and Cremona were fundamental for their Reggiana club to win the team competition. In the final, Reggiana bet Milano to obtain their second win in a row of this Major event for clubs.
On Sunday, for the individual competition, all Maltese managed qualification with exception of Aquilina who was eliminated on goal difference. In the Open category, Derek Conti, Mark Gauci and
In the veterans, Mifsud qualified from the groups but only managed last 16 were he lost to Portughese player Nuno Nuronha with a golden goal after that the match finished in a 1-1 draw.
During the same weekend, an International friendly was organised against
Massimo Cremona - Nikos Beis 0-0
Joe Mifsud / Mark Gauci - Kostas Triantafillous 2-2
Derek Conti - - G.Koutis / S.Hantzaras 1-1
Hansel Mallia - Velissarios Fragakis 1-0
Malta I.open - Mar'09

The first day of March embedded the Malta International Open for Table Football. The competition held at the Maria Assunta Secondary School involved four categories namely the Open, the Veteran, the Under 19 and the Under 15. Although the participants were not as much as expected, 15 players in the Open were set in five groups of three with the second in each group played barrage on the way to the quarter finals. All seeded players qualified from their respective groups to the knock out stage.
Derek Conti won the event after winning over Joe Mifsud with a golden goal after a tight 1-1 match. The semi finalist were Mark Gauci and Joe Borg Bonaci.
In the Under 15 competition, one group of four player a round robin event out of which Darren Bezzina did not loose a match finishing on top ahead of Angelo Borg with two points.
Seven players made up the Under 19 competition with two groups, one with three players and the other one with four. After this stage, directly to the semi final stage were Angelo Borg and Nicholas Sciberras won their matches against Darren Bezzina and Adam Gatt 2-1 and 1-0 respectively. In the final, Borg dominated for a long period in the match and after scoring two goals won this event.
In the Veteran category, Joe Mifsud won his second International event after beating 6-0 Joe Zammit Pavia in the final.
Mifsud wins Veteran Category & Mark Gauci reaches Open Final


The First weekend of February, the Utrech Grand Prix in Holland was scheduled for which three Maltese, Hansel Mallia and Mark Gauci were to participate in the Open while Joe Mifsud chose the Veteran category to compete in this Grand Prix.
On Saturday, Hansel Mallia played along with his Belgian Team of Hennuyer. Mallia’s contribution eluded to several positive results and managed to reached semis, only to loose to Rochfort AS by goal difference. Third place was the consolation position obtained for Mallia and his Belgian Team.
On Sunday, in the Individual competition, 41 players in the open and 28 players in Veteran category for which the Maltese players were set in groups of four from which the top two qualified for the next rounds.
Mallia and Gauci in the Open won their groups but Mallia had to play barrage in the next round. Although playing at his best and dominating most of the game but neglected to score, he lost in the extra time with a golden goal against Belgian Sami Targui.
On the other hand, Gauci bet France top player in the last 16 soon after the group stage 2-0 to play in quarters and repeat the score against Austrian Thorsten Korzil. In the semi finals, Gauci faced Belgian Targui where the Maltese had control in most of the game and the 2-1 victory was no surprise and Gauci obtained the second final in two weeks. At this stage, Valery Dejardin, World’s 6th ranked player had to play against the Maltese. Unfortunately, the Maltese did not perform at his best and the Belgian won 4-0 with the Maltese left stranded in the second place on the podium.
In the Veteran category, Mifsud obtained second place in a group of four. After this stage, direct elimination on the road to the final faced the Maltese against four Dutch players were the Maltese bet them all to face Martyn Bomm in the final. Bomm, bet the Maltese in the group and in the final played in Brussels some months ago and is currently top ranked player in the Veterans and holder of the last world cup played in Vienna 2008. Mifsud had the lead lost three times and the final score 3-3 could not determine the winner. Even though extra time was played, no score happened and shoot outs had to be taken with the Maltese winning 3-1 on shots. With this victory, Mifsud gained 17 positions in the World Rankings and is currently 17th position.
Malta Grand Prix - Jan'09
Massimo Cremona and Hamrun TFC win the Malta Grand Prix

The Malta Table Football Sports Association held the Malta Grand Prix with competitions set for teams and individuals sparsed over the weekend. The teams Grand Prix was scheduled on Saturday for which six teams took part. Hamrun TFC was present with three teams along with Valletta SC and the Italians of Palermo ASD and CCT Roma.
In the team event, after the group stages, direct semi final was obtained by Hamrun TFC “A” after winning the group over Valletta and Palermo. On the other side, CCT Roma had the same fortune and won the group to obtain a semi final place. CCT Roma and ASD Palermo, side two Maltese players each and were of constant motivation for their side. CCT Roma lost to Hamrun A, while ASD Palermo bet Hamrun TFC ‘B’. In the final, Hamrun TFC ‘A’ overwhelmed ASD Palermo having two Maltese players with a tight 2-1 win. This meant that Hamrun TFC ‘A’ retained their teams grand Prix for the second success year after winning last year’s competition.
On Sunday in the individual competition, five different categories were scheduled with the Open, Veterans, Under 19, Under 15 and the Ladies categories being set in groups followed with a direct elimination on the road to the final match.
In the Under 15, Emanuele Lo Cascio from Palermo, had the better of Angelo Borg who was playing at his best this season, with a golden goal thriller 3-2. The semi finalists were Andrew Abela and Darren Bezzina. However, in the Under 19, Angelo Borg had even a better performance and won over Adam Gatt with a tight 1-0 score. Eleven players participated in the Under 19 category for which three groups were set.
In the Veterans category, eight players, four Italians and four locals entertained this category. After the groups, Adrian Bonnici dominated the semi final beating Enrico Corso 4-0, while Joe Mifsud only manage a late winner to obtain a place in the final over Fabrizio Sonninno. In the final match, Mifsud was much better off Bonnici and went on winning this category 3-0 and get maximum points for the International ranking.
In the Open category, 30 players sparse over 10 groups of three packed the schedule for which after this stage, direct elimination took place. Massimo Cremona retained this Grand Prix after winning 1-0 over Mark Gauci in the final. Derek Conti and Charles Aquilina were the semi finalists.
Brussels Gran Prix - Nov'08

During the first weekend of November, Hansel Mallia and Joseph Mifsud participated to the Grand Prix of Belgium held in Brussels. Along to the individual competition held on Sunday, Mallia was also involved in the Grand Prix for teams along with his Belgian club of AS Hennuyer. A total of 26 teams participated set in six groups of which the first two qualified. Mallia’s performance was perfect were he won all his matches and aided his side for a direct quarter final qualification. At the Quarters, Hennuyer faced a Belgian encounter against SC Charleroi. However, the game finished tied and sudden death decided the semi finalist, out of which Charleroi managed to score the golden goal and Mallia’s side only managed 7th place.
On Sunday, the Individual competition took place in which Joe Mifsud participated for the first time in the Veterans’ category while Mallia played in the Open. After a 2nd place in the group Mallia bet Christoph Dhyne from Belgium 1-0 to qualify for the last 16 and met Austrian’s Robert Lenz. After a 1-1 match, the Austrian scored the golden goal to put away Mallia’s hopes for qualification to the next round. Belgian Valery Dejardin won the Open event.
In the Veterans’ category, Mifsud was not seeded in group 10. Thirty six players took part to this category. Mifsud won his group and in the next rounds he bet Ron Corsten from Holland and Erich Hinkelmann with the same score 2-1 to reach the semis. In the last four stage Mifsud faced Paolo Finardi from Torino and the Maltese performed his best to dominate the match and won 3-0 to reach the final. Dutch Martyn Bomm and World’s top ranked veteran player could not cope with the Maltese precision and the Maltese dominated this match. However a late goal, which was also the only shot at goal from the Dutch player gave the victory to Bomm leaving the Maltese with a better deserved but a 2nd place on the podium.
Vienna World Cup - June 08

Team Event
Malta looses to Spain 2-1 at Quarter Finals.
Individuals
Massimo Cremona & Samuel Bartolo reach last 16 stage
Hansel Mallia & Mark Gauci loose at last 32
Veterans
Joe Zammit Pavia fails from group qualifications
More results can be obtained here: www.fistf.eu & www.subbuteonews.com
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Bologna Major - May 08

Joe Borg Bonaci beats master Bolognino 3-2 in sudden death to win the first Major.
Joe Mifsud reaches semi final, loosing 1-0 to Massimo Bolognino.
Full results can be found here
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Manchester G.P. - Rome Satellite
During the second weekend of January, Maltese players were involved in International competitions held in
On the other hand,
On Sunday Mallia captained the Belgian team of AS Hennuyer. 16 teams took part from 9 different countries. After winning the group, the Belgian side managed to obtain three consecutive wins on the road to the final against Italian side of
Europa Cup 2007 (Athens)
Joe Borg Bonaci against Capellacci of Falconara (ITA)
Mario Camilleri (HTFC) against Aggelinas of AS Hennuyer (Belgium)
After last year's italian final in Lisbon between Napoli and Perugia, only one team from Italy managed to reach the final, but the winner is still from Italy, after BLACK & BLUE Pisa won a close match against TFC MATTERSBURG of Austria. After the groups were finished without any big surprises (all the big clubs went through the groups to the round of the last 16), in the first knockout stage already the first surprises happened. Stella Artois Milano managed to beat last year's finalist Perugia and San Siro had a close match against austrian team from Royal 78 Kaisermühlen, which they won in the end on goal difference.There were also some other close games in that round, like Hennuyer against Chaleroi or Stembert against Roligans, both decided in sudden death, first for Hennuyer, second for Roligans. In the quarterfinal the next surprise happened, because the cupholder said good bye after a tie against San Siro Worthing Fivestar, but again after the round of last 16 the goal difference was better for San Siro. To show how close this tournament was in this quarter final 3 out of 4 matches were only decided on goal difference. Mattersburg won against Falcons from Greece where Maltese Joe Borg Bonaci won his match but his team lost to the Austrians, Stella Artois Milano beat Hennuyer on goal difference too where Maltese player Hansel Mallia bet Italian World Champion Efrem Intra 2-1. Mallia's win was not enough as his team lost on goal difference and did not reach semi final stage. In half final San Siro had to play against Pisa and Mattersburg had to beat Stella Artois Milano to reach the final. In the end Pisa could manage it to win clearly against San Siro and Mattersburg won again on goal difference.The final was very close too, but in the end Pisa managed to win this game and take the trophy to Italy once again. Hamrun TFC did nopt manage a group qualification and finished 18th place overall. Massimo Cremona's AS Perugia reached only 13th place after loosing to Milano.
Naples (Spetember 2007) - Italy
Joseph Mifsud, Jean Carl Tabone and Hansel Mallia participated in the International Open of Naples. Mifsud had his first appearance with the new Italian team of Palermo in the clubs' competition. His first appearance helped the Sicilian team to reach Quarter finals to then loose to event winners of Perugia AS.
The Sunday individual competition was a complete battle and some surprises did not miss too. Especially with regards to Carlos Flores who lost 6-3 to Vincenzo Varriale of Naples. Jean Carl Tabone had to abandon hopes after loosing to Maltese team mate Mifsud 3-1. Mifsud then lost to event winner and home idol Massimo Bolognino 3-1 at quarter final stage. Hansel Mallia, on the other hand met freshly crowned World Champion, Daniele Bertelli at quarter final stage were he lost narrowly 2-1 where with some luck, the Maltese could have easily bet the talented Italian star. Pictured are the Maltese players along with the event winner/organiser Bolognino from Italy.
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Glasgow (April 2007) - Scotland
Three Maltese players, Joseph Mifsud,
The venue was the main conference hall of the Holiday Inn in
In the semi final he then lost to top player, Dutch man Eric Verhagen 2-1 in a very tight match. The event saw Dutchman winning over Kasper Bennet from England 5-3.In the team event, Mallia captained the Belgian side of AS Hennuyer but the Belgian side lost to Austrian team DEVILS 3-0 in the quarter finals. Mifsud and Bartolo also lost to the same team but in the semi final stage 2-1 where Bartolo obtained the only win for his team over Robert Lenz with an impressive 3-0 win. The competition crowned DEVILS champions over the other Austrian side of Mattesburgh.
Right - Sauel against Verhagen and Left - Samuel with the s/finalist trophy
Dingli (April 2007) - Malta
Full report is available HERE
Amsterdam (April 2007) - Holland
In the Open category, Robbert Thoen and Eric Verhagen qualified to the last 32. Eric Verhagen won over Oliver Dubios, Mikael Casciano, Andrea Tue Vincenso and Kasper Bennett. In the final he then met against Massimiliano Nastasi from
The Maltese
Mons (March 2007) - Belgium
Four Maltese players – Joseph Mifsud, Massimo Cremona,
Besides the Major, the Maltese also played a friendly international against the home side. The Belgian team was made up of the best players but in the end the Maltese won on goal difference.
In the teams event, Pergia made it all the way to the final with
However, they lost to Napoli Eagles 2-1 for the third time this season.
Mark Gauci and Joe Mifsud played for the Greek side of Atlas Glyfada and lost to AS Milan just after the group stages.
In singles, all four Maltese qualified from their repective groups. Unfortunately,
Mallia lost to Greek Spiros Hantzaras 1-0 after conceiving a goal in the last seconds of the match.
Mifsud lost to Spanish Matteos 1-0 after the group stages.
Gil Delogne of
Full results are available online on www.fistf.com
During the same weekend of the USA Grand Prix & I.Open, Massimo Cremona was involved in the International Open of Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.
Washington DC (March 2007) - USA
During the second weekend of March, Joseph Mifsud and
Both Maltese took part in both events for which 45 players took part from 7 different countries such as
On Saturday, both Maltese managed qualification from their respective groups and qualified for the next round in which both Maltese managed to qualify. In the Quarter Final stage, Mifsud won his match, while Mallia lost in goalden goal after a 3-3 tie, against American top player, Zach Walker. In semi final stage, Mifsud lost to
On Sunday, the International Open was held. Although groups were more tight for the Maltese, both players managed to win and qualify. Mifsud and Mallia continued with their positive performance and managed qualifications. Mifsud bet Jeremy Meyler 5-0 and Greg Deinhart 3-0, while Mallia bet Paul Eyes 8-0 and Zach Walker 1-0, were Mallia had his revenge after the toss was opted as the day before.
At semi final stage, both Maltese had hard opponents were Mifsud met Wolfgang Haas of
Mallia, on the other hand, met World’s top player Eric Verhagen. Mallia was loosing 2-0 by half time but he equalised 2-2 during the second half. However, Mallia conceived a late goal in the dying seconds of the match and all hopes were lost. In the final, Verhagen bet Haas 3-1 to win both events and retain his number one position.
Malta I.Open & Satellite (March 2007) - Hamrun
The FISTF Satellite tournament took place with the participation of a total of 29 players playing in 4 categories. The Open was won by Hamrun’s Veteran, Patrick Pace, who saw off
The U19 was won by Siracusa's 18 year-old Mauro Camilleri, who narrowly beat 15 year-old Timothy Spiteri. In the semi-finals Camilleri beat Andrew Abela while Spiteri eliminated Daniel Pule.
The U15 provided to be a very competitive competition in which many players could have gone home with the silverware, but finally it was Hamrun's 13 year-old Adam Gatt who won. The final, between Gatt and 11 year-old Matthew Pace went to Gatt’s side with a late winner. The semi-finalists were Darren Bezzina and Angelo Borg who all gained points for the rankings.
The Veterans was won by Hamrun's Natalino Tanti who defeated
On the other hand, International Open took place with the participation of 39 players playing in 4 categories. The Open was won by
The U19 was yet again won by Mauro Camilleri with Timothy Spiteri finishing right behind him in second place and Dane Xuereb of Hamrun TFC finishing third. The U15 competition was won by Hamrun's 13 year-old Brandon Farrugia who defeated the highly-rated Andrew Abela of

The biggest competition for clubs will be between 28 & 29 of October 2006.
The final list of participants is now official and the teams are:
1 AS Hennuyer
2 SC Chaleroi
3 SC Verviers
4 SC Stembert
5 ACS Perugia
6 Eagles Napoli
7 CS Reggiana
8 Stella Artois Milano
9 Yorkshire Phoenix
10 English Premier League
11 TSG Rain
12 SF SW gemaba Hitdorf
13 SMV Delft
14 D.E.V.I.L.S. Austria
15 TFC Mattersburg
16 TSC Royal 78 Kaisermühlen
17 AS Murciana
18 Catalunya FT
19 El Palmar Flames
20 Orfeão da Foz do Douro
21 União Futebol Clube Os Pastilhas
22 Grupo Desportivo Dias Ferreira
23 Roligans
24 Atlas Glyfada TFC
25 SC Elbeuf
26 FTC Issy les Moulineaux
27 San Siro Worthing 5 Star
28 Sport Lisboa e Campolide
More detailed information are available HERE