The 1922-23 season saw the inauguration of the Empire Stadium. The new venue at Gżira replaced the Mile End Sports Ground which by this time was past its best days.
Compared to the Mile End, the Empire was a paradise. At the time of its inauguration it was still not quite completed, but, nevertheless, it already had a grandstand, four dressing rooms and a well-provided First Aid station.
More importantly, the ground had a full-sized pitch with ample space behind the goalposts and at the sides for taking corners and outballs. An eight-foot high wall encircled the pitch and this served as a deterrent to anyone who intended to 'invade territory' to congratulate players or protest with the referee.
Those old-timers who remember this ground used to say that it resembled a Roman arena and that the general arrangement of the ground was similar to that of the Recreation Ground in Portsmouth.
Finding itself for the first time ever with two grounds at its disposal, the Malta FA took the opportunity to organise the league in three divisions. This was the first time that the league was so extended.
The first league championship played at the Empire Sports Ground was one of the best played up to that time.
For once, all matches were played out without any serious incidents and this, in those days, was very rare indeed.
The teams in the First Division were Floriana, Sliema Wanderers, Valletta United, Ħamrun Spartans, Sliema Rangers and Vittoriosa.
The first match, between Sliema Rangers and Valletta United, was played on November 12, 1922. This match was rough and devoid of any good football.
Rangers won 1-0 but Valletta were not the team of old. So much so, that in their next game they were trounced 7-0 by Floriana. This huge defeat was followed by another 1-2 setback to Vittoriosa which completely broke up the team.
Valletta paid a £5 fine and packed up their boots. They did not take part any more in the competition.
The Spartans also had a poor season, winning just one game.
Their sole victory came against Vittoriosa. In other matches, Ħamrun were beaten 4-1 by Sliema Wanderers, 1-0 by Floriana and 1-0 by Sliema Rangers. Gone were the days of the great Ta' Werwer team of the pre-World War One era.
Sliema and Floriana had maximum points when they played each other on January 28, 1923 in a game which was to decide the destination of the championship.
Sliema had the great Ruġġieru Friggieri in their ranks. He was playing for the first time against his old team, Floriana. The Greens, on their part, were strengthened by that other great player, Gejtu Psaila, il-Ħaċċa.
These two players were Malta's first-ever professionals. Friggieri signed on as a salaried player for the Wanderers in 1922, also getting a job as groundsman at the Empire Sports Ground. Psaila was 'bought out' of the Malta Police to play full-time for Floriana.
The match started with Floriana going on the attack in an attempt to score an early goal, but the opposite happened when after only seven minutes Frankie Busuttil pounced on a miskick by Salvu Tabone to score the goal which gave the Blues the championship.
The Second Division league was played at the Mile End on Sundays.
Ten matches were played in this competition. Apart from Msida Rovers, who were clearly the weakest team, the others were more or less of the same calibre and therefore all matches were balanced.
Cottonera United and Msida Rovers opened the league on November 19, 1922. Cottonera found little opposition from the Rovers and at the end ran out easy winners 5-0.
Floriana Liberty and Ħamrun FC drew 0-0 in the next match, while Marsa United beat Cottonera 3-1. With Marsa beating Ħamrun 1-0 and Liberty beating Cottonera 2-0, the race for the title was now reduced to these two teams.
The match which finally decided the championship was played on January 28, 1923. Marsa United beat Liberty 1-0 in a hard-fought game to win the competition.
Floriana gained some consolation when their youth string, Floriana Small Irish, won the Third Division league.
This was only the second time that this competition was being organised. The first edition was held way back in 1912-13 when the third team of St George's were crowned the first Division Three champions.