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History
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UEFA Participation
Birkirkara F.C. has so far managed to
participate 14 consecutive times in UEFA competitions. This is a feat no other local club has managed to achieve. Participation in UEFA competitions started in season 1996-1997. During this period, participation was mostly in the Europa League (Ex-UEFA Cup). In fact the Club took part 10 times in this Competion. Birkirkara also participated twice in the UEFA Champions League and once in the Intertoto Cup.
Often, foreign competition was too strong for the ‘Stripes’ and they were defeated with a large score. The worst defeat Birkirkara conceded was against Lyngby of Denmark when they suffered a heavy loss of 0-7 in the away match. Surprisingly, in the return match, Birkirkara managed to hold Lyngby in a goalless draw.
On a much more positive note, Birkirkara had managed to qualify for the second round of the UEFA Cup in season 2001-2002, when they managed to beat the much more quoted Lokomotiv Tbilisi of Georgia by a solitary away goal. In the second round, Birkirkara were eliminated by the giants of Russia, Dinamo Moscow just by the odd goal.
In the 2005-2006 season draw, Birkirkara were the favorites to qualify for the second round of the UEFA Champions League, when they drew against B36 of the Faroe Islands. However, after two disappointing performances, Birkirkara were eliminated by an aggregate score of 2-5.
The only time that Birkirkara played in the Intertoto Cup was in the season 2006-2007 when Birkirkara were eliminated by NK Maribor of Slovenia with 1-5 score line on aggregate.
The ‘Stripes’ were unlucky once again in the 2008-2009 season when they were eliminated just by the odd goal after two impressive performances against Slaven Belupo of Croatia.
In the 2009-2010,
Birkirkara wrote a new page in their history where they managed to qualify for the 2nd round of the Uefa Champions League as they managed to eliminate Andorra’s side, Santa Coloma with one of the most comfortable aggregates that a Maltese team ever achieved, a 7-3 aggregate. As the first leg was scheduled to be played in Andorra, the match was cancelled due to the terrible sate of the pitch with Birkirkara being awarded a 3-0 victory.
In the home leg, Birkirkara register their first ever victory in the Uefa Champions League as they managed to beat Santa Coloma 4-3.
In the 2nd round, Birkirkara registered a historical win when on Tuesday 13th July, Birkirkara beat Slovakia’s champions, Msk Zilina with a 1-0 result thanks to Nikola Vukanac who scored the all important goal after just forty seven seconds. This was the first ever win that a Maltese team registered in the 2nd round of this competition.
On the other hand, Birkirkara could do nothing in the away leg with a 3-0 score loss, which resulted in a 3-1 aggregate for the foreigners. Although the ‘Stripes’ were eliminated, they ended their adventure with heads held high especially for what they had managed to do in the first leg.
UEFA Champions LeagueSeason Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate 2000-2001 Qualifying Round 
KR Reykjavík 1-2 1-4 2-6 2006-2007 Qualifying Round 
B36 Tórshavn 0-3 2-2 2-5 2010-2011 Qualifying Round 
Santa Coloma 4-3 3-0 7-3 2010-2011 2nd Qualifying Round 
MSK Zilina 1-0 0-3 1-3
Europa LeagueSeason Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate 2009-2010 Qualifying Round 
Slaven Belupo 0-0 0-1 0-1
UEFA CupSeason Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate 1997-1998 Qualifying Round FC Spartak Trnava 0-1 1-3 1-4 1998-1999 Qualifying Round 
FC Shakhtar Donetsk 0-4 1-2 1-6 1999-2000 Qualifying Round 
Lyngby BK 0-0 0-7 0-7 2001-2002 Qualifying Round 
FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi 0-0 1-1 1-1 2001-2002 Round 1 
FC Dynamo Moscow 0-0 0-1 0-1 2002-2003 Qualifying Round FC Metalurh Zaporizhzhya 0-0 0-3 0-3 2003-2004 Qualifying Round 
Ferencvárosi TC 0-5 0-1 0-6 2004-2005 Qualifying Round 
KF Partizani 2-1 2-4 4-5 2005-2006 Qualifying Round 
Apoel Nicosia 0-2 0-4 0-6 2008-2009 Qualifying Round HNK Hajduk Split 0-3 0-4 0-7
UEFA Intertoto CupSeason Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate 2007-2008 Qualifying Round 
NK Maribor 0-3 1-2 1-5
