Background and early years Although officially the new stadium was inaugurated on 6 December 1981 with a Maltese Premier League encounter between
Zurrieq F.C. and
Senglea Athletic F.C., certain records suggest that the stadium was already up and running by May 1981. Indeed, newspapers extracts indicate that the stadium hosted the final of the first ever national championship organised by the now defunct Malta Football Federation (not to be confused with the
Malta Football Association, which at that time was known as the Main Football Association) between Valletta Vanguards FC and Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club on 3 May 1981. The highest ever attendance at the stadium was during a
1986 World Cup Qualifier encounter between Malta and
West Germany played on 16 December 1984, when 35,102 people turned up to watch Malta narrowly lose to the runners-up of the previous
World Cup. The Millennium Stand replaced the 5,000 seater East Stand, which had been declared as a dangerous structure for a number of years by then and hence had to be demolished. The construction of the Millennium Stand, which cost Lm3.5 million, was regarded as the
"biggest infrastructural project ever undertaken by the Malta Football Association" whereas the stand itself has been described as ''"the jewel in the Malta FA's crown"''.
Pitch resurfacing In 2016, the Maltese Football Association announced a €1.5 million project to replace the old grass surface with a modern hybrid grass surface, with the former having been in service for 35 years. The project was conducted by
SIS Pitches who are renowned for other works such as the
Vodafone Arena and
iPro Stadium. The expenses were partly financed by
UEFA and
FIFA, with the rest being covered by the MFA.
Future In July 2017, during the annual general meeting, the Malta Football Association announced five projects. Two of these projects, which also include the construction of new futsal hall and a parking adjacent to the Enclosure (West Stand), entail the re-development of the North and South Stands. A short clip shared by the association on its
Facebook page suggests that the space behind both the goals will be removed and the two stands will be moved closer to the pitch. The re-development also entails removal of the corners, making stadium an "English-style" venue. In January 2026, the Malta Football Association launched a stakeholder consultation for the re-development of the Ta' Qali Sports Complex. The planned redevelopment entails the re-construction of the Enclosure (West Stand) and the North and South Stands, and the construction of four canopies covering each stand, and will see the capacity of the stadium reduced to 12,000. == Events ==