Dingli Swallows F.C.
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| Full name | Dingli Swallows Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Swallows |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Ground | Tartarni Ground |
| Capacity | 500 |
| Chairman |
 Joseph Cuschieri |
| Head Coach |
Marco Buttigieg |
| League | Maltese Third Division |
| 2014–15 | Maltese Second Division, 12th |
[[Dingli Swallows Football Club is a Maltese football club from the small village of Ħad-Dingli, which currently plays in the Maltese Third Division. The club was founded in 1948.
The club was founded soon after the end of World War II, thus being one of the first Maltese football clubs. The "Swallows" competed mostly in the lower divisions till the beginning of the 90s, when under the guidance of Dingli born coach John Mary aka Jimmy Farrugia, they were promoted to the Maltese second division after a memorable season. The following season they were promoted to the First Division after winning 5–3 a decider against Siggiewi to fill in the place vacated after that Luxol St. Andrew,s and B'Kara FC merged. They survived in the First Division for five seasons, until they were relegated back to Division Two. After a few years struggling in Division Two, they were promoted to the First Division again as Division Champions at the end of season 2006–07 under coach Jesmond Zammit. During the successive season they managed to win the First Division Cup for the first time in their history.
From there they never looked back and on May 19, 2009, Dingli Swallows were promoted to the Maltese Premier League as champions of the Maltese First Division for the first time in their history. The club beat Vittoriosa Stars 2–1 at the Corradino Stadium in the championship decider match. The major hero of this achievement was Coach Jesmond Zammit, a former player and Committee member of the same club. The club established itself as the major club hailing from the western part of the island, thus shadowing eternal rivals Rabat Ajax who have been trailing for some years hip-hoping between the second and third divisions.
Their first season in the Maltese premier League was a very difficult one and the Swallows under coach Jesmond Zammit managed only two victories – against Floriana 2–1 and against Msida SJ 5–2. They were relegated back to the First Division finishing at the 9th place just in front of Msida SJ. Back to Division 1, they closed their season on a very high note, beating First Division Champions Balzan Youths 3–2, after that they were trailing by 2 goals, to win the First Division Cup for the second time in their history. At the end of the season 2011/12 Dingli Swallows only just managed to retain their First Division status finishing just one position above the relegation zone. At the end of season 2012–2013, after 3 seasons competing in the First Division, the Swallows were relegated to the Second Division. This happened mainly due to the fact that the team was dismantled during the last Christmas transfer window. The funds gained from transfers of the players, were used mainly to fund the project of renovation of the club's facilities. When season 2013–2014 came to an end, the club managed to retain its position in the Maltese Second Division. This was possible thanks to a very good run in the second part of the season. A handful of players from the club's youth sector, together with other players with more experience, under the guidance of coaches Mr. Roland Sollars and Mr. Marco Buttigieg, helped the club to achieve its aim for the season 2013–2014. The current coaches took over from Mr. Jason Cachia, who was appointed Technical Director. Unluckily, at the end of season 2014–2015 the Swallows were relegated to the MFA Third Division, after more than two decades playing in higher divisions. During this season the team consisted mostly of youngsters from the nursery, whom together with some experienced players, did not manage to avoid the third-from-last table position, which meant relegation. During the following season (2015-16) quite a few youngsters were introduced to the first squad. Although, the Swallows did not get promoted, they ended at the upper part of the table. The aim of the season was reached, that of gaining more experience so that in the near future the Club can try to aim for higher divisions.
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