Empire Stadium

The Empire Stadium, also known as the Gżira Stadium or just The Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Gżira, Malta.
It was used mostly for football matches and hosted the home matches of the Maltese national football team, including the very first international match for Malta in 1957 against Austria. It also hosted the final of the Maltese Cup. The stadium was able to hold 30,000 spectators and originally opened in 1922. It was notorious for its sandy pitch. The stadium hosted its final game in 1981, being replaced by the modern Ta' Qali Stadium.

The stadium opened on 4 November 1922. The ground was inaugurated with an exhibition match between MFA XI and HMS Ajax. The Ground is where during the First World War the RAF had its balloon station and was leased by the Baruni Testaferrata Moroni Viani to his brother in law Carmelo 'Meme' Scicluna. With the opening of the Empire Sports Ground, the Mile-End Football Ground lost its importance. The Mile-End Football Ground was situated near Spencer's Monument at Blata l-Bajda and was Malta's main football stadium between 1912 and 1922.

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