Sliema Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed "tax-Xelin" (of the shilling), is a professional Maltese football club. It is based in the seaside town of Sliema. It currently plays in the Maltese Premier League.
The club was founded in 1909. The club competed in the first ever Maltese Premier League season in 1909âÂÂ10 and finished in second position to Floriana after the five-game season came to an end.
Ten years down the line, Sliema Wanderers finally made their mark in Maltese football by winning the Maltese Premier League title in the 1919âÂÂ20 season. Since then the team have gone on to win the title 26 times, a record for Malta; the last three being in 2002âÂÂ03, 2003âÂÂ04 and 2004âÂÂ05.
Sliema Wanderers also hold the record for the most FA Trophy wins, with their first coming in 1935, when they overpowered Floriana with a 4âÂÂ0 victory. The club have gone on to win this particular honour 20 times, most recently in 2000, 2004 and in 2009; the last title was won against Valletta 7âÂÂ6 on penalties after the match finished 3âÂÂ3 following extra time.
The 2000s saw Sliema Wanderers becoming a dominant club in the Maltese scene again.
Summer 2003 had President Robert Arrigo signing Maltese internationals Jamie Pace, Djibril Sylla and Daniel Bogdanovic.
Season 2004-05 saw the Wanderers, under the presidency of Robert Arrigo, win their 26th Maltese Premier League title. Part of this success was Michael Mifsud's return to his boyhood club after being leaving 1.FC Kaiserslautern on a free.
Season 2005-06 started with a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Sheriff Tiraspol. Much to Arrigo's chagrin, lost Michael Mifsud to Lillestrøm SK, in a move made possible by Nikki Dimech who acted as his representative, albeit being a lengthy transfer saga that was complicated by International Transfer Clearance issues and compensation fees.
Sliema Wanderers clinched a Maltese FA Trophy in season 2015-16.
Keith Perry was confirmed as president in the beginning of season 2016-17 despite rumours. John Buttigieg was appointed as Head Coach.
The club endured a rough start to the 2020s. The club started off with a bang, signing former Arsenal F.C. midfielder DenÃÂlson. Further players were signed and Keith Perry was appointed chairman of the club, and Jeffrey Farrugia took over as president. A sponsorship deal was struck with Catco Group, an oil investment company based in China and Tunisia. Catco Group however, failed to pay its dues, citing technical reasons. This gave way to unrest within the club, with captain Mark Scerri and head coach Andrea Pisanu making public statements regarding the financial situation of the club, proceeding with resignations such as Perry and team manager Alex Muscat. Players went unpaid for months, with another sponsor, Sixt, finally paying the players directly just before Christmas. Eventually a new sponsor was brought on board. Farrugia was later ousted as Keith Perry returned in the President's seat in preparation for the upcoming season.
Season 2021-22 was disastrous from a technical point of view. Despite signing two new players in Djibouti international Warsama Hassan and Japanese Yuki Uchida, up until 19 November 2021, the club had not yet won a match, and sat at the bottom of the Maltese Premier League. The first win came on 20 November, stunning Valletta with a 2âÂÂ1 result. The dying minutes of the match however, proved fatal, as Warsama Hassan was introduced at 90 minutes. However, the player had just returned from Egypt, where he had featured for his Djibouti national football team in a match against Algeria. Warsama was supposed to be in quarantine, having returned from a Dark Red listed country. Valletta lodged a formal complaint, which was upheld by the Malta Football Association, awarding a 3âÂÂ0 win to Valletta. Sliema Wanderers' next match was against Birkirkara F.C., resulting in a further loss. On 10 April 2022 Sliema Wanderers lost against Valletta with a 2âÂÂ1 result, and were relegated to Maltese Challenge League after thirty-seven years in the top flight.
Sliema Wanderers also had a futsal team, which participated in Malta's top futsal league until 2024. The 2023âÂÂ24 season was the last edition of the Enemed Futsal League in which Sliema Wanderers Futsal participated, finishing at 9th place and thus qualified for the Enemed Challenger League.
Previously, Sliema had limited success in the domestic futsal competitions, finishing eighth in the 2010âÂÂ11 season, fifth in 2011âÂÂ12, and seventh in 2012âÂÂ13 - out of ten teams. In the 2015âÂÂ16 season, when the championship featured 14 teams, Sliema placed ninth.
Sliema Wanderers Bilbao Futsal reached the second round of the national cup in 2010âÂÂ11 and 2012âÂÂ13.
On 13 February, Sliema Wanderers Youth Futsal won the Youth Futsal League after defeating Mosta 6âÂÂ2 in the final played at the National Sport School in Pembroke, with Giorgio Comes scoring five goals for the winners.
As of 7 February, 2026.
See
Lately coach Paul Zammit was saked after a disappointing loss to Swiqi United 2-1 in the Malta FA Cup round of 32 and was reflaced by Argentian coach Pablo Doffo
Post-WWII season-by-season performance of the club: