Hamrun Spartans have made Maltese football history, becoming the first club from the island nation to qualify for the Conference League after a 3-2 aggregate win over Latvia’s RFS in a qualifying play-off. Eddie Zammit Cordina said he never dreamed of such a moment as the result was sealed with a 2-2 draw in Riga, hours after Hamrun had taken the first leg 1-0 at home.
The achievement matters far beyond one tie. The Conference League kicked off in 2021 to bring European club football to new shores, and Hamrun have now become the 52nd of UEFA’s 55 member associations to reach the competition’s league phase or group stage through the tournament. The Maltese side joined 43 clubs that have made their debuts in a senior men’s UEFA league phase or group stage because of the competition, alongside teams from 12 different nations.
For Hamrun, the breakthrough carries the weight of something larger than a single qualification night. Zammit Cordina said he wanted to thank the players who put their heart into the decisive matches, calling it huge for Malta and even more special because it was Hamrun who did it. Coach Giacomo Modica said the club had climbed the Mount Olympus of serious football and that nobody else had achieved this before. Midfielder Albert Dabiqaj put the point more bluntly: for a footballer, there is nothing better than the Conference League.
The tournament’s track record helps explain why that feeling is shared across smaller clubs who see it as a route into Europe rather than a closed shop. More than 3,600 players have appeared in the competition since its inception, and its recent list of standout names has included Declan Rice, who was named the official Conference League Player of the Season in 2022/23 before joining Arsenal a month later, and Igor Thiago, who played for Club Brugge in 2023/24.
That wider picture is what gives Hamrun’s run meaning today. The competition was built to widen access, and the Maltese champions have now forced their way into it, turning a qualifying tie into a national first. This season’s finalists, Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano, are newcomers too, a reminder that the Conference League still creates fresh entrants even as it settles into Europe’s calendar. For Malta, the next step is simple: a place at the table that no club from the country had reached before.
