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433:) 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.
428:
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
334:. 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
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311:. 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
373:(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
425:. 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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of
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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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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342:) 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
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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943:Student's documentary recalls old Empire Stadium
953:Watch: A walk through Gżira's stadium of dreams
933:The Empire Stadium... a trip down memory lane
854:"Gates close at Gzira ground after 60 years"
874:"History of the Malta Football Association"
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299:matches and hosted the home matches of the
814:Armstrong, Gary; Mitchell, Jon P. (2008).
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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580:Main stand at the former Empire Stadium
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369:(European Cup) and FA Trophy Winners
350:friendly match between Malta XI and
58:adding citations to reliable sources
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307:. It also hosted the final of the
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820:. Routledge. pp. 30, 52–54.
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556:Former entrance, today
336:Mile End Sports Ground
191:35.90255°N 14.492745°E
27:Maltese soccer stadium
568:Former stadium, today
285:multi-purpose stadium
18:Empire Stadium, Gżira
884:on 27 September 2011
275:, also known as the
54:improve this article
265:No, but dilapidated
196:35.90255; 14.492745
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859:The Times of Malta
762:16 September 1970
696:19 September 1979
632:27 September 1967
586:Record Attendances
210:Testaferrata heirs
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673:28 December 1947
659:Wiener Sport-Club
640:Manchester United
460:1920s athletics
391:Manchester United
365:League Champions
352:SK Viktoria Plzeň
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43:This article
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939:25 Sept 2008
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886:. Retrieved
882:the original
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704:Leeds United
602:Competition
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409:(Spain) and
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383:Leeds United
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225:Construction
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52:Please help
47:verification
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903:Malta Today
770:Real Madrid
605:Attendance
407:Real Madrid
393:(England),
389:(England),
385:(England),
309:Maltese Cup
281:The Stadium
194: /
169:Coordinates
967:Categories
959:5 Jan 2019
949:9 Oct 2013
836:References
766:Hibernians
636:Hibernians
367:Hibernians
262:Demolished
249:1933, 1951
182:14°29′34″E
179:35°54′09″N
80:newspapers
657:MFA XI –
411:Barcelona
401:(Italy),
397:(Italy),
246:Renovated
110:July 2011
792:Floriana
726:Floriana
700:Valletta
681:Floriana
431:Ta' Qali
395:Juventus
375:Servette
371:Floriana
297:football
283:, was a
279:or just
216:Capacity
154:Location
888:28 July
801:15,000
779:16,056
757:17,421
748:Austria
735:18,346
713:18,735
691:20,000
668:22,000
649:23,217
627:29,751
618:England
360:Austria
319:History
305:Austria
94:scholar
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677:Sliema
599:Score
596:Match
532:1950s
448:1920s
403:Celtic
379:Ujpest
340:Hamrun
254:Closed
238:Opened
220:30,000
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983:Gżira
744:Malta
614:Malta
593:Date
508:1947
496:1947
484:1935
293:Malta
289:Gżira
230:Built
207:Owner
162:Malta
158:Gżira
101:JSTOR
87:books
890:2011
822:ISBN
796:1–0
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730:2–2
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644:0–0
622:0–1
331:Ajax
329:HMS
271:The
257:1981
241:1922
73:news
287:in
56:by
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