Maltese club Floriana FC, the story of their home ground.

Floriana FC’s home has never been just a patch of grass and a few stands. It’s a story that runs from a British military parade ground, through Malta’s independence celebrations, into decades of ground‑sharing – and now towards an ambitious 4,000‑seat stadium that could finally give the club a permanent modern base in Floriana once again.

From parade ground to football home (pre‑1964)

Organised football in Floriana dates back to the club’s founding in 1894, when Floriana FC began playing on a field that had previously been used as a cricket ground from around 1890. This open space sat within a wider British military context – the area was essentially a parade and training ground for troops stationed in Malta, used for drills, ceremonies and inter‑service sport as much as for local matches. Over time, this “Floriana Parade Ground” became the natural home for the club’s early sides, hosting fixtures between locals and military sides and laying the foundation for Floriana’s identity as one of Malta’s earliest and most successful teams.

1964: Independence Arena and a national stage

The pivotal year in this ground’s story is 1964, when Malta achieved independence from the United Kingdom and the Floriana Parade Ground was thrust onto the national stage. In the run‑up to the 21 September celebrations, a new grandstand was constructed on the site to accommodate dignitaries and spectators for the official independence ceremony. It was here, on what would now be known as Independence Arena (or Independence Ground, Ix‑Xagħra tal‑Furjana), that the Maltese flag was formally raised for the first time as the flag of an independent state, giving the venue a symbolic role far beyond club football.

From this point, the ground’s dual identity solidified: it was both Floriana FC’s home and a space closely associated with Malta’s modern nationhood. The stand built for the independence events remained a defining feature of the stadium, looking out over a basic grass pitch and largely open surrounds that could handle crowds of roughly 3,000 when fully used.

1960s–1970s: The Independence Arena era

Through the 1960s and into the 1970s, Independence Arena was Floriana’s de facto home base. The club trained here, hosted domestic fixtures, and played in front of supporters who ringed the pitch in a mixture of small seated sections and standing areas. Facilities were modest by modern standards – a single main grandstand, basic changing rooms and a largely open bowl – but the location in the heart of Floriana made it a focal point for the local community.[7][10][1][4]

At the same time, Maltese football was slowly moving towards a more centralised model for major fixtures. As the national stadium at Ta’ Qali developed, bigger matches and key national team games were drawn away from traditional club grounds like Independence Arena. Still, for a generation of Floriana supporters, “home” meant Ix‑Xagħra tal‑Furjana, with its layered history as parade ground and independence stage.

1980s–1990s: Centralisation at Ta’ Qali

By the 1980s and 1990s, the Maltese Premier League was increasingly structured around a small pool of multi‑club venues, dominated by the National Stadium at Ta’ Qali and, later, the adjacent Centenary Stadium. The Malta FA’s scheduling meant that “home” and “away” status became a matter of designation rather than each club using its own private stadium week in, week out.

Ta'Qali, Maltese National Stadium

For Floriana, this translated into a gradual shift: while Independence Arena remained their historic and nominal home, many top‑flight fixtures were actually staged at Ta’ Qali and other MFA facilities. The club’s link to Floriana’s open ground stayed strong at a symbolic level – as a training venue and community space – but regular league and cup games were now more likely to be played under the lights of the national complex than in front of the old 1964 stand.

2000s–2010s: A shared‑stadium reality

As the new millennium progressed, the shared‑stadium model became the norm in Maltese football. The National Stadium, Centenary Stadium and Hibernians’ ground (later renamed Tony Bezzina Stadium) formed a core circuit of venues where Premier League clubs took turns being the “home” side. Ground‑mapping and competition data list Independence Ground as Floriana’s home with a nominal capacity of about 3,000, but in reality, most competitive fixtures were no longer played there.

Independence Arena’s physical condition declined in this period. The pitch was no longer maintained as a full‑time elite playing surface, and much of the open area was gradually repurposed as informal car parking. The ground remained part of Floriana’s identity and training infrastructure, but it had effectively slipped out of the Maltese top‑flight’s regular matchday rotation.

2010s–early 2020s: Independence Arena in limbo

By the 2010s, the situation had hardened into a kind of limbo: Independence Arena was historically and emotionally central to the club, yet practically sidelined as a serious match venue. Local reporting and aerial images showed a ground whose centre was dominated by parked cars, with the old stand looking increasingly tired.

Meanwhile, Floriana competed for titles and European places using the MFA’s stadium network, mainly Ta’ Qali and Centenary Stadium, alongside occasional fixtures elsewhere. The club’s name and colours remained deeply entwined with the Floriana locality and its independence symbolism, but there was no modern, club‑controlled stadium to match that status.

Tony Bezzina Stadium and the modern matchday base

In recent seasons, the practical answer to “Where do Floriana play their home games?” has largely been: Tony Bezzina Stadium in Paola. Formerly known as Hibernians Ground, this stadium – home to Hibernians FC – sits in Paola, south of Valletta, and is a key part of Malta’s shared venue circuit.

Tony Bezzina Stadium has a quoted capacity in the region of 3,000, with some sources suggesting up to around 8,000 depending on how much standing is used. Floriana have been regularly designated as the “home” side here for Premier League fixtures, effectively making Paola their main matchday base while Independence Arena lies in wait for redevelopment.

The stadium itself is named after Tony Bezzina, the long‑serving Hibernians president who led that club from 1978 until his death in 2021, and who was widely regarded as one of Maltese football’s most influential club figures. After his passing at the age of 72, the Hibernians Football Ground was renamed Tony Bezzina Stadium in his honour, underlining his importance to the Paola community and the national game.

2024–2025: A new stadium dream revived

Against this backdrop of shared stadiums and a decaying historic ground, Floriana FC set out to reclaim Independence Arena as a modern home. In August 2024, the club publicly announced plans for a new 4,000‑seat stadium to be built on the existing Independence Arena footprint.

The proposed ground is described as a *"UEFA‑standard" venue, with fully seated stands and facilities that would allow Floriana to host domestic and potentially European matches in Floriana itself.

Renderings and early concept descriptions frame the project as more than just a stand and pitch. The plan is for a wider sports and community complex: upgraded training facilities, club offices, hospitality areas, gym and sports‑medicine spaces, and improved infrastructure for the club’s youth nursery. The idea is to create a multi‑purpose hub that can serve Floriana’s teams, local schools and community sport during the day, and function as a vibrant matchday venue at weekends.

The 45‑year lease and political backdrop

The critical step in making this vision real came in 2025, when the Maltese government – via SportMalta – granted Floriana FC a 45‑year temporary emphyteusis (long lease) over the Independence Arena land. The deal grants the club title to use roughly 19,000 m² of land, but with clear conditions: the space must be dedicated to sports facilities and related uses, and the current large‑scale car‑parking activities must cease.

The lease includes a substantial public subsidy: reports indicate that the annual ground rent is discounted by 95%, bringing it down to around €11,000 a year, which is presented as a state support measure for one of Malta’s most decorated clubs. This arrangement has attracted scrutiny and political debate, with critics questioning the extent of the subsidy and the environmental and planning implications of the proposed development in a central urban space. Nonetheless, the legal framework now firmly places Independence Arena in Floriana FC’s hands for decades to come, creating the conditions for serious investment in a new stadium.

Investors, commercial elements and project uncertainty

From the outset, the project has been framed as a multi‑million‑euro development involving private investors. Early coverage highlighted the role of MIG Trade, linked to entrepreneur Diane Izzo and the DIZZ Group, as a key commercial partner in delivering the stadium and associated commercial elements. Plans referenced retail units and other income‑generating spaces within or around the stadium footprint, intended to help make the project financially viable and support the club’s self‑sustainability.

However, reporting in 2025 suggests that MIG/DIZZ has sought to withdraw from the project due to financial pressures, with discussions over compensation and restructuring of the agreement. This introduces uncertainty over how the final scheme will be financed and what the commercial mix will look like, even as the long lease and political approvals remain in place.

Design process, Expression of Interest and current status

Alongside the lease, Floriana FC have moved into a formal procurement phase. The club has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the design, construction and operation of the new stadium and associated facilities on the Independence Arena site. Public posts and statements emphasise a vision of modern stands, integrated training areas, and improved public access, with the club seeking partners capable of delivering both the technical build and the commercial management of the complex.

As of late 2025 and early 2026, there is still no publicly confirmed groundbreaking date or opening season. The project sits at the junction of politics, planning, finance and football – but, crucially, Floriana now have long‑term control of their historic ground and a clear, if evolving, blueprint for bringing football back to Ix‑Xagħra tal‑Furjana on a permanent basis. In the meantime, the club continues to play its competitive “home” fixtures in shared venues such as Tony Bezzina Stadium, keeping one eye on Paola and the other firmly on Floriana’s own, long‑awaited modern home.