The Birkirkara Courier
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Up for the corner, and Allan Christian delivers — 7.60
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Allan Christian scored, was marked 7.60, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Rafa Santos goes up and wins it — 7.34
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.34 for the rest of it.
Boardroom31 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Birkirkara
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Birkirkara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rogério is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Door shut on João Moura
Birkirkara asked and Naxxar Lions said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Fatjon Bunjaku in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Birkirkara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 Aug 2026
Brian Vella steps up from the Birkirkara academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Brian Vella has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market31 Aug 2026
One of our own: Simon Pace joins the Birkirkara first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Simon Pace is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market31 Aug 2026
Luke Buttigieg steps up from the Birkirkara academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luke Buttigieg has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market Birkirkara promote Patrick Busuttil from within
- The dugout The manager makes an example of Rogério
- Squad Rashed Al-Tumi makes it 100