Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536636
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 JUNE 2025 4 INTERVIEW Victoria Hotspurs FC president: 'In life you set targets. You have to remain ambitious' FOR the first time this year, a Gozitan foot- ball team competed within the Maltese league structure. Fast forward to the end of the season and Victoria Hotspurs are Ama- teur Cup winners, Amateur League 2 win- ners, and Amateur Super Cup runners-up. But Victoria Hotspurs President Anton Tabone tells me, as we sit down for this in- terview inside the club premises in Rabat, that he has his sights set on Premier League football. "In life you have to set a target, and you have to be ambitious. The target is the Premier League. The when and if are yet to be seen, but that is the goal. We will take it year by year," Tabone tells me. Victoria Hotspurs had played their football in Gozo for over 75 years, and while others had attempted to make the switch to Maltese league football, none had been successful. Tabone says that while there was wide con- sensus within the club to make the historic move, there was pushback from the Gozo Football Association. He does not give detail but insists the club soldiered on until it start- ed its journey in the Maltese league system at the lowest tier. Tabone tells me the club wants to retain its Gozitan identity. He says the club wants to serve as a vehicle for Gozitan talent to make it in Malta, and out of a squad of 19 players, 14 were Gozitan in the 2024/25 season. "We are a Gozitan team, and the idea is not only for the club to play in Malta, but also for the biggest talent in Gozo to play there," he says. Playing all their matches in Malta was a pre- requisite for Victoria to be integrated into the Maltese league but Tabone sees no issue with this. He does not rule out future discussions with other club presidents on the possibility of having home matches in Gozo. "It could also be of interest for the clubs to play one game a year in Gozo at a different stadium, and this could be part of the foot- balling calendar," he says. On the state of Maltese football, Tabone tells me it is on the right direction, despite having to endure years of being viewed as just a hobby. "If we look at the MFA today for example, it is a professional setup, but if we want clubs to get closer to that level, a lot still has to be done," he says. After a successful first season playing in the Maltese league, with two trophies and a runner up medal, the president of Gozitan football club Victoria Hotspurs, Anton Tabone, speaks to Karl Azzopardi about his goals for the club, his Premier League ambitions and the challenges that came with crossing the channel