University of Malta Futsal Team

Honorary Presidents

Gilli
Amato Gauci

Season 14/15

Warren Sammut

Season 15/16

Stefan
Cutajar

Season 16/17, 17/18

Nicholas Martinelli

Season 18/19

Kurt Rizzo

Season 19/20, 20/21, 21/22

Club Ambassadors

JOY
Attard
Kyle
Sultana
neil
cauchi
GAYLE LYNN
callus
luca
Caruana
izaak
Mifsud
Jasmine AGius
Steph
dalli
matthew
Gatt
Martina
camilleri
andrew
camilleri
NICOLE
AGIUS
ELAINE
MUSCAT
gaetano
Gesualdi
Dalziel
Bugeja
ANDREA
Farrugia
Jurgen D’Amato
Andre
borg
DaNiel
Balzan
DENIS
Muscat
Christian
Mallia
JULIAN
GRECH
andre
debattista
TYRONE
GRECH
Calvin
scicluna
aidan
caruana
ALBERT
CAMILLERI
JOHN
Micallef
Hertian
salameh Cachia
STUART
Diacono †

Club History

Season 2014–15

In 2014, after a long hiatus, the futsal section of the Mdina Knights began to play again. The move was prompted by officials from Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (namely Gayle Lynn Callus) and Malta University officials, who suggested the football club recruit University students to play on the team.

The sub-committee of the Futsal section was formed on May 12, 2014, which is nowadays considered the inaugural date of our Club.

Inaugural committee members included: Gilli Amato Gauci, Owen Bonello, Warren Sammut, Stefan Cutajar,
Luca Caruana, Edward Caruana Dingli, Matthew Thomas Carbonaro, Isaac Zammit, Edward Camilleri
and Jurgen D’Amato, amongst others. The first Head Coach was Kyle Sultana.

On September 15, 2014, the team played their first match against Mqabba, a match which ended in a 3-3 tie. The first goal of the club was scored by Matthew Gatt, who was also then captain, and goalkeeper! The team ultimately finished their first season mid-table, surpassing the club’s own expectations. The first win of the club came against Msida at 7-5. A 10-0 win of Birzebbuga and an upset against the then league leader, Mellieha, on St Patrick’s Day where also highlights of the new Knights team. Mdina/University were the last opponent of Lija Futsal who won the division title, and in sporting fashion, the Students present gave a standing ovation to the triumphant team. In their match against Birzebbuga, vice-captain Cleaven Portelli registered the fastest goal of the season, scoring 13 seconds after the match’s start.

Inaugural AGM on May 12, 2014.
Left to Right: Jurgen D’Amato, Steve Sammut Alessi, Isaac Zammit, Christian Mallia, Gilli Amato Gauci, Edward Caruana Dingli, Owen Bonello, Matthew Thomas Carbonaro, Michael Piccinino, Kyle Sultana.
In absentia: Warren Sammut, Stefan Cutajar.

Season 2015–16

After a positive first season, the team sought a number of corporate partners. The team added Gaetano Gesualdi and other new players to the squad. The team strengthened its structures together with a healthy financial position, including charity for academic research towards Motor neuron diseases as part of its social responsibility, but found it difficult to adapt to the format change in the Maltese Futsal League. Although the team started positively, it finished 11th out of 14 teams. The Students suffered large defeats from Swieqi United, Ħamrun Spartans, and Luxol, and were narrowly defeated by Sirens, Mqabba, Zebbug and Attard, The team recovered toward the end of the season and won against Marsascala, Gozo & Qrendi.

Committee Members were as follows:
President: Warren Sammut
Vice-President: Stefan Cutajar
Secretary General: Jurgen D’Amato
Financial Officer: Christian Mallia
PRO: Luca Caruana
Sales & Marketing Manager: Gayle Lynn Callus
Events Manager: Izaak Mifsud
Sporting Director: Daniel Balzan
External Officer: Martina Camilleri

Season 2016–17

The team grew and because Futsal Malta Association regulations allowed teams to compete independently from any club within the Maltese football league system. Mdina Knights F.C. and the Student section ceased collaboration in 2016. The University of Malta Students’ Futsal Team became an independent organisation and was recognised as an official student organisation by the senate of the University of Malta.

The team crowd funded its away kit, which would include the names of all those who contributed, in 2016. This was a blue Adidas kit with a the names forming a Maltese cross, signifying the Knights heritage of both the club and the country.

In 2016–17, the team saw unprecedented successful performances (except for the match against Hamrun), and won important matches, for example, against Msida Futsal, aided by performances of player Djordje Maksimović. The team entered the race for the Elite Group of the Gatorade Futsal League. With a 1-1 draw against Sliema Futsal, the team achieved Elite status for the first time.

Season 2017–18

In the 2017–18 season, the team aimed to enter the Elite Round once again and was considered on par with the strongest clubs. However the club did not make it to the top round of Maltese futsal. Star players included José María Aguilera Castellano (better known as Joselito) from Spain and Nermin Hasanbegović from Slovenia. The club came close to winning the Division One play-offs. Having finished first in the Division One pool, the team played a semi-final against Tarxien JMI and exited on penalties after a draw. In the Maltese Knockout Futsal Cup, the club managed to defeat Valletta Futsal the quarter finals to arrive at the finals. The club achieved a mean feat in defeating futsal giants Luxol with a 5-2 scoreline and claimed its first trophy in Maltese domestic futsal. The team later presented the trophy to the rector of our alma mater, the University of Malta

Season 2018–19

The team saw major changes in the squad—the departure of several key players, including Shawn Deguara to Valletta, Matthew Gatt to Birkirkara, Paul Scerri and Alistair Scerri to Pieta, Rodney Debono and Dylan Cacciattolo to Swieqi, amongst others; as well as the departure of Kyle Sultana as coach. The club however, saw the return of Cleaven Portelli.

The University Futsal Team confirmed its participation in the 2018–19 Maltese Futsal League.

Having won the Knockout Cup in the previous season, the club became eligible to contest the Maltese Futsal Super Cup. The University Team was defeated by Valletta which made them the runners-up of the Super Cup.

The club appointed Clayton Felice as new coach. The team opened its league commitments on October 5 against UM Futsal Academy, its own B team, and won 9-1. Three days later, on October 8, Luxol won against the senior University side 8-1.

New player Lee Grech proved a revelation and was called up to the Maltese national futsal team. Grech scored the only goal for Malta on his debut on October 25, 2018, but the team lost to the Northern Irish national team with
a 2-1 score.

Season 2019–20

Season 19-20 was an interesting season due to the fact that it was characterised by the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, matches started to be played in the National Sports School pavilion in Pembroke, as opposed to the historic Hibernians Corradino pavilion. The Club elected Kurt Rizzo as President, who brought in some administrative changes as well as sporting ones.

Players joining included Christian Wismayer, Melvin Borg, Neil Cuschieri, Dylan Musu, and Swiss international Gabriel Buckson.

Season 2020–21

The Covid-19 pandemic hit Maltese futsal hard, and this brought some changes to the squad. Alex Ellul returned to the fore after Season 17-18. Similarly, Lee Grech also returned after Season 18/19. The club signed Essa Benatiya and Andrew Pace. Calvin Scicluna was drafted to the team as well. The Club attained a respectable league position and honoured University Students even though Futsal was played behind closed doors.

Season 2021-22

After the Covid-19 pandemic, futsal returned to normality in Malta with the 21-22 Season, with the University Students roping in a major sponsor, that being J. Portelli Projects, a very sought after supporter in Maltese sport and cultural initiatives. Portelli invested in the team and the committee were smart enough to strengthen the team with Guilherme Fonseca de Deus, a professional Brazilian futsal player, better known as Guilherme. Other players joining included Andre Cachia, Steve Camilleri, Aaron Montebello and Dale Valletta.

This was the backbone of the team that ended up winning the Knockout for the second time, with another final won against Luxol, this time with a scoreline of 6-2.

Season 2022-23

After some administrative changes, Andrea Varrazzo took helm of the club as President. He brought back Guilherme and signed Gia Nikvashvili. He managed to win the Malta Futsal Trophy again on the double, once more with a win against Luxol.