Valletta FC is planning a Republic Street party on Saturday evening to celebrate the team’s return to top flight Maltese football.

The capital city’s team will be officially crowned champions of the BOV Challenge League on Saturday, one year after it was relegated for the first time in history. 

Valleta dominated the second tier of Maltese football this season, losing just one of 21 matches played and winning its previous five matches on the trot. They mathematically won the league back in March. 

To celebrate promotion to the 360 Sports Malta Premier League, the club said it will be organising a street party on Saturday evening.

Celebrations will begin at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium at 2.30pm, one hour before the team’s final match of the season against Marsa FC kicks off. The party will then shift to Valletta, with a celebration on Republic Street from 7pm onwards, the club said in a statement.

Valletta FC President Claudio Grech said the day is shaping up to be “one of the most memorable days of its history.”

 “The club’s relegation at the end of last year’s season meant that the Valletta FC needed to keep in mind its glorious past but also embark on a radical transformation process, on an organisational, logistical, and financial level – decisions which the Club’s management faced head-on through intensive work done across all divisions. Relegation was tough but enabled us to rethink how we structure ourselves to ensure today we are in a stronger position and are enthusiastic to take our place where we belong, among Malta’s football elite,” he said.

Grech thanked fans for their support, noting that independent research confirmed that Valletta FC was the most popular team in Malta.