Finally, the third qualifying round hurdle has been overcome as Ħamrun Spartans have become the first ever Maltese representative to qualify to the play-off round of a UEFA club competition.
An incredible achievement for Maltese football which had already witnessed history with three local clubs making it to the third qualifying round in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Ħamrun’s incredible journey in Europe will now see them take on Serbia’s giants, FK Partizan.
The Belgrade side are 27-time domestic champions who made it as far the last 16 in the first edition of the Conference League before being eliminated by eventual finalists Feyenoord.
“This qualification has showed that Malta has its own talents and that we can compete against some of the best clubs in Europe,” Matthew Guillaumier told the Times of Malta.
“I am proud of having helped the team to write history.
“We can now celebrate a bit before we shift our focus to the next game where will be facing a top team like Partizan.”
Unfortunately for Gżira United and Hibernians, they stumbled in the second leg after their strong showings in the first legs against Austria’s Wolfsberger AC and FK RFS of Latvia.