Hamrun Spartans FC
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| Full name | Hamrun Spartans Football |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | tas-sikkina, ta' werwer |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Ground | Victor Tedesco Stadium |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| Chairman |
 Gejtu Debattista |
| Manager |
Jacques Scerri |
| League | Maltese Premier League |
| 2015–16 | 2nd (Promoted) |
Hamrun Spartans Football Club is the football team of Ħamrun on Malta. Since being founded in 1907, the Hamrun Spartans have won a total of seven league championships. They have also been runners-up eleven times.
One of the stalwarts in the club history, Stefan Sultana, has scored a total of 252 goals in his career (225 of them while playing for the club), which makes him Malta's top-scorer (per May 12, 2007).
Hamrun Spartans were founded in 1907. By season 1913–14, Hamrun Spartans were already an established team on the local scene winning the title during that season thanks to a better goal-average than St. George's. Their second League success came four years later when they finished again in joint top-spot with St. George's. This time the Spartans were crowned Champions of Malta by beating them in a play-off. Hamrun's top player at that time was Gejtu Psaila, known as il-Hacca. In the 1920s and 1930s, the club went through a difficult period as most Hamrun players left to join other clubs.
A new team, Hamrun Liberty was formed and in just a couple of years, Hamrun Liberty were among the elite of Maltese soccer. On their return to the First Division in 1946–47, the club changed its name to Hamrun Spartans. They were soon a hit as they won the Johnnie Walker Championship Trophy, winning also the Cassar Cup. They won the Cassar Cup again in 1948–49 season. For four times between 1947 and 1952 they were four times runners-up.
The team started dwindling down in the 60's until they were relegated in the season 1969–70. After returning to the First Division, they were relegated once again in 1973–74. However, after two years in the Second Division, they were back in the First Division.
On the 75th anniversary, in season 1982–83, the club was back at the top winning the title after an absence of 36 years. Hamrun also managed to win the FA Trophy during that season. That was the beginning of an era under the guide of president Victor Tedesco. The team was strengthened with top players like Gigi Salerno, Raymond and George Xuereb, Edwin Farrugia, Raymond Vella, Joe Brincat and Carlo Seychell. Alfred Cardona was their coach. After a lot of disputes with the Immigration Division, Victor Tedesco managed to sign two foreigners, Englishmen Peter Hatch and John Linacre – the first foreigners to play on the island after a long period of time.
The Spartans set a new record being the first local team to win both the home and away legs in a UEFA competition after beating Ballymena of Northern Ireland. In a decade, Hamrun managed to win three league titles, three FA Trophies, the Super Cup and Euro Cup twice each.
After such successful campaigns, the Spartans faced financial difficulties. The team had to transfer its best players until finally they were relegated to the First Division in 1998–99. After one year, they were promoted back to the Premier League after winning the Division 1 title.
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