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422:) on 14 December 1980 leaving the MFA out of the celebrations. Finally both parties managed to reach an agreement during the month of November 1981 following lengthy discussions. Football was finally transferred to the newly built turf stadium of Ta' Qali. Sunday 29 November 1981 was the last time that The Stadium hosted a football match.
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During the 1970s the MFA was involved in a heated dispute with the
Maltese government over the administration of the game. In an attempt to boost the local game the government started to organize football leagues at the Marsa Sports Ground without consulting the MFA. In the meantime the government
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at the Empire Sports Ground. During the summer of 1933 the Sports Ground had to be pulled down. Work on a new stadium started immediately and the MFA First
Division had to be postponed for some months. Although not completed, the Empire Stadium was officially inaugurated on 24 December 1933 with a
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During the summer of 1965, the MFA together with the affiliated clubs decided not to play at the
Stadium following an argument with the management over the distribution of gate-money. Following lengthy discussions, the MFA decided to transfer all football activities for season 1965/66 to
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When the lease expired the owners took over the management. The owners changed the name of the ground to the
Stadium and made it clear that they did not want to run it at a loss. The end of the lease saw a new cup called the Testaferrata Cup replacing the Scicluna Cup.
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An important event organized on a regular basis at the Empire
Stadium was the Christmas Tournament, in which foreign teams played friendly matches against local teams during the Christmas holidays. Malta's first-ever international match, a 2-3 defeat to
323:. The Ground is where during the First World War the RAF had its balloon station and was leased by Pietro Paolo Testaferrata Moroni Viani (Baron Gomerino) to his brother in law Carmelo 'Meme' Scicluna. With the opening of the Empire Sports Ground, the
300:. The stadium was able to hold 30,000 spectators and originally opened in 1922. It was notorious for its sandy pitch. The stadium hosted its final game in 1981, being replaced by the modern
362:(Cup Winners' Cup) were the first teams to take part in European Competitions in the season 1961/62. After suffering a 0-5 defeat in the first leg, Hibernians lost 1-2 to Swiss champions
414:. Everything returned to normal during the summer of 1966 when a solution was found. Football started to be held at The Stadium again in season 1966/67.
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Czechoslovakia. Other sports activities such as boxing, athletics, and motor-cycling were also held at the Empire Stadium.
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The area of the
Stadium, which is owned by the heirs of Baron Testaferrata, is today valued at over €30 million.
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of
Hungary qualified to the next round on a 15-4 aggregate score after beating Floriana FC 2-5 in the first leg.
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lost its importance. The Mile End Sports Ground was situated near
Spencer's Monument at Blata l-Bajda (limits of
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402:(Spain) were some of the teams involved in European Competitions matches played at the Empire Stadium.
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Air view of
Marsamuscetto Harbour, Malta, with the Empire Sports Ground in the foreground, ca. 1950
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The stadium opened on 4 November 1922. The ground was inaugurated with an exhibition match between
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Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanization on the Fringes of the EU
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Early in the 1930s, Scicluna signed a contract with a British company to hold
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Motorsport in front of the Empire Stadium enclosure during the 1920s
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331:) and was Malta's main football stadium between 1912 and 1922.
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officially inaugurated the newly built National Stadium (
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Malta v Austria - Memories of historic match rekindled
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932:Student's documentary recalls old Empire Stadium
942:Watch: A walk through Gżira's stadium of dreams
922:The Empire Stadium... a trip down memory lane
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843:"Gates close at Gzira ground after 60 years"
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863:"History of the Malta Football Association"
288:matches and hosted the home matches of the
803:Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008).
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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569:Main stand at the former Empire Stadium
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841:Baldacchino, Carmel (10 April 2008).
358:(European Cup) and FA Trophy Winners
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339:friendly match between Malta XI and
47:adding citations to reliable sources
296:. It also hosted the final of the
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809:. Routledge. pp. 30, 52–54.
967:Multi-purpose stadiums in Europe
962:Defunct football venues in Malta
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412:Manoel Island Football Ground
982:1922 establishments in Malta
58:"Empire Stadium" Gżira
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867:Malta Football Association
314:Malta Football Association
284:. It was used mostly for
133:Gżira Stadium in the 1950s
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366:at the Empire Stadium.
917:Official Facebook Page
545:Former entrance, today
325:Mile End Sports Ground
180:35.90255°N 14.492745°E
16:Maltese soccer stadium
557:Former stadium, today
274:multi-purpose stadium
873:on 27 September 2011
264:, also known as the
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254:No, but dilapidated
185:35.90255; 14.492745
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848:The Times of Malta
751:16 September 1970
685:19 September 1979
621:27 September 1967
575:Record Attendances
199:Testaferrata heirs
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707:17 February 1952
662:28 December 1947
648:Wiener Sport-Club
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449:1920s athletics
380:Manchester United
354:League Champions
341:SK Viktoria Plzeň
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672:XI – SK Austria
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32:This article
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928:25 Sept 2008
887:
875:. Retrieved
871:the original
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693:Leeds United
591:Competition
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398:(Spain) and
394:(Scotland),
376:Ipswich Town
372:Leeds United
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214:Construction
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
892:Malta Today
759:Real Madrid
594:Attendance
396:Real Madrid
382:(England),
378:(England),
374:(England),
298:Maltese Cup
270:The Stadium
183: /
158:Coordinates
956:Categories
948:5 Jan 2019
938:9 Oct 2013
825:References
755:Hibernians
625:Hibernians
356:Hibernians
251:Demolished
238:1933, 1951
171:14°29′34″E
168:35°54′09″N
69:newspapers
646:MFA XI –
400:Barcelona
390:(Italy),
386:(Italy),
235:Renovated
99:July 2011
781:Floriana
715:Floriana
689:Valletta
670:Floriana
420:Ta' Qali
384:Juventus
364:Servette
360:Floriana
286:football
272:, was a
268:or just
205:Capacity
143:Location
877:28 July
790:15,000
768:16,056
746:17,421
737:Austria
724:18,346
702:18,735
680:20,000
657:22,000
638:23,217
616:29,751
607:England
349:Austria
308:History
294:Austria
83:scholar
813:
666:Sliema
588:Score
585:Match
521:1950s
437:1920s
392:Celtic
368:Ujpest
329:Hamrun
243:Closed
227:Opened
209:30,000
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972:Gżira
733:Malta
603:Malta
582:Date
497:1947
485:1947
473:1935
282:Malta
278:Gżira
219:Built
196:Owner
151:Malta
147:Gżira
90:JSTOR
76:books
879:2011
811:ISBN
785:1–0
763:0–0
741:2–3
719:2–2
697:0–4
675:0–4
652:1–1
633:0–0
611:0–1
320:Ajax
318:HMS
260:The
246:1981
230:1922
62:news
276:in
45:by
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833:^
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87:·
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