Għajnsielem F.C.
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| Full name | Għajnsielem Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Blacks | ||
| Founded | 1936 | ||
| President | Paulson Cassar | ||
| Head Coach | Anthony Cremona | ||
| League | Gozo First Division | ||
| 2015–16 | Gozo First Division, 1st (Champions) | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Għajnsielem Football Club are a football club from the Maltese Island of Gozo, in the village of Għajnsielem. They are the oldest still active club in Gozo and was founded in 1936. The club has won the Gozo Football League top division seven times.
The Founders (1930-1936)
And so we reach the 30's, a notable age for sport in Gozo. But before moving on with the story of football we have to turn to another important "British" institution—the Scouts—and the arrival in Għajnsielem of a man still remembered by many.
One day in the early 30's, a Franciscan friar landed at Mgarr, and being a young man in his twenties, he quickly walked up the hill towards St. Anthony's Convent. Father Bernard Hersey was born in Tigne, Malta, the son of William Henry Hersey and Margaret née Buttigieg, on October 3, 1906. He was baptized at St. Julian's parish church and entered the Franciscan Minor Order on March 26, 1922. He became a friar on October 24, 1927 and said his first Mass on July 6, 1930. Soon after he was transferred to the convent at Għajnsielem and the village soon felt his impact. He was an energetic man who loved sports, the out-door life and people. He must have been disappointed with the lack of clubs or places where young people could meet and use the time profitably. Soon he was at work and in no time at all gave birth to the Għajnsielem Sea Scouts, the only scouts of their kind in Gozo (only Sliema had them in Malta). He opened a Club for them at No. 10 Fawwara Street, and this place is important in our Club's history, because it was there that Għajnsielem F.C. was formed later on.
The Sea Scouts soon proved tremendously popular with the Għajnsielem people. At one time the troop reached the number of 75 members under leader Turu Spiteri and frequently made a name for the village during parades in Victoria. It was natural for Father Hersey to opt for the Sea Scouts rather than the Boys Scouts as in other villages, considering the link Għajnsielem always had with the sea. The members were taught all aspects of life saving and soon many of the village's youths and children were the proud owners of the all-blue uniform.
One thing Father Hersey was happily surprised to discover was a rudimentary kind of football being played by Għajnsielem's youths. Soon the idea was conceived…a football club for Għajnsielem, and not only for Għajnsielem but for other places in Gozo as well. At the same time the game in Malta was living through a great boom and a number of Gozitans used to cross over for the great Sliema-Floriana encounters. In Gozo however no attempt had ever been made to organize one single club, let alone an association.
So now the ditch at Chambray began drawing "Il-Patri" as well and here the two people rightly described as the Fathers of Għajnsielem F.C. met.Mr. Carmelo Mallia was born in Sliema in 1898. He married Helen née Vella from Birkirkara and came to Gozo in 1934 to work as Chief Nurse at Fort Chambray which in the meantime had been converted into a hospital for the mentally ill. When he came to Gozo he was already a lover of the game and was instantly interested in ‘footballers’ in the ditch. He tried manfully hard to instil some sense into their play with little success at times.
As soon as Fr. Hersey and Mr. Mallia made each other's acquaintances they discovered a mutual love for football and interest in the footballing youths of Chambray. From there things moved fast and with Father Hersey organizing things and Mr. Mallia coaching the youths the Club started taking shape.Being involved in the Scout movement, Father Hersey had a hand in the introduction of the game in Victoria as well and the Victoria Scouts Group formed a team themselves. Together with others he pushed for the realization of a long-harboured dream—a ground fit for competitive play. Around 1934 and 1935 friendly games of a sort were being played in one of Chambray's ditches, but the site was obviously inadequate for competitions under recognized rules. At last in 1935, the ground at Xewkija was completed and named the Silver Jubilee Ground to mark the festivities then being held to commemorate the 25thanniversary of the accession of King George V to the throne.
The Launching (1936-1945)
And so we come to 1936, the year Għajnsielem Football Club was born. Hersey and Mallia were determined to launch the Club officially that year, but competition was a problem. What was the use of forming a club when no other clubs existed? Groups of youths from different places were banding together to play friendly matches, some of them at Chambray, but no organized teams were yet in evidence. Meanwhile, football was catching on in Victoria through the Scouts, with whom Fr. Hersey had a lot of contact and it was thus that the idea of the first competitive match in Gozo emerged. The Victoria Scouts and the Għajnsielem team agreed to play a game at the Silver Jubilee Ground for a challenge cup sometime in May 1936. A Silver cup was soon procured, sponsored by the Prince of Wales Engineering Workshop owned by Mr. Bernard Zammit of Marsa.
Interest in the team spread like wild fire among the youths of the village. Mr. Mariano Xuereb and Mr. Joseph Cauchi crossed over to Malta to buy the first set of jerseys to be used in the inaugural match. In those days a lot of villagers and especially the Cauchi family who were related to the famous Maltese player ‘Kaneni’ Cauchi, were strong supporters of Floriana F.C. It was only natural that when a discussion about the colours of the Club arose, the famous green and white stripes won the day. Unfortunately no such strip could be found in Malta and the two gentlemen had to come back with a green and yellow striped set of jerseys…it was disappointing, but at least there was some green.
The Victoria Scouts Group were the favourites to lift the Cup. They had the better side with more talented players. Most of their team studied in colleges and private schools in Malta and had a far better knowledge of the game than the band of Għajnsielem 'workers' who laboured at tough jobs all day long and simply had no inclination to pursue the finer points of the game. One thing our players dominated in was strength...and they had a lot of it.
The final, held on May 21, drew a good crowd most of whom knew next to nothing about the game. Parochial fever ran high however, especially on our side. Before the match the cup was put on display on a cloth covered table besides the touch-line with Fr. Hersey and a few other important-looking people sitting behind.The Victoria side soon raced to a 1-0 lead which they managed to keep until half-time. As expected they were the more cunning side, frequently outwitting our players. However strength was to win the day. With the sun slowly setting behind Victoria, Għajnsielem attacked with relish through the second half using strength and will to the utmost. Their spirits rose when Joe Cassar equalized soon after the restart. Time was rapidly running out when Elija Debono, one of the talented players in the side, beat a couple of players, entered the penalty-area and shot hard into the net. It was the goal of the game and the Zammit Cup was ours.After the match players and supporters converged on the "Blue Anchor" Bar, just off the old clubhouse in Apparition Square and there the cup came into good use as it passed from mouth to mouth as drinks flowed in celebration.The Zammit Cup is still preciously guarded at the Club. Indeed, it is the most important trophy among the good number we possess. Engraved on it are the words: THE PRINCE OF WALES ENGINEERING WORKS, BERNARD ZAMMIT MAIL SERVICE, 1936.It spent some years at the Għajnsielem Primary School when the Club folded up for some years but was brought back in the late 60's.
First-team squad 2016-2017
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
- Gozo Football League
- Champions (7): 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 2004–05, 2015–16
- Gozo FA Cup
- Winners (6): 1973–74, 1986–87, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07
- Independence Cup
- Winners (6): 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1987–88, 2002–03
- Zammit Cup
- Winners (1): 1936
External links
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