The Malta Football Awards

Hearts will be pounding come July when the first edition of the Malta Football Awards will be held to reward the top players and officials who shone during the past season.

Football awards in Malta may be considered to be a common occurrence but so far the effort has been fragmented and the notion of holding an event on such an extensive scale seemed a far-fetched idea. But budding young journalist Sandro Micallef had other ideas.

Since taking to the television screens some two years ago, the idea had been gaining momentum at the back of his mind. When fellow reporter Robert Cutajar pledged his support, the idea began to take shape.

While newspapers, television stations and even the Malta Football Association organise annual events in which they reward the best players and the top scorer, no comprehensive award contest was organised for arguably Malta`s most popular sport.

Other European countries hold similar gala nights to honour their top players. While Malta may not boast football stars who are worth millions, there is nothing from stopping this little island from organising its own show to recognise the achievements of the players.

The Malta Football Awards will be rewarding players, coaches and officials. The event is endorsed by the MFA and the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Jesmond Mugliett.

Only one restriction has been imposed on the event: no category can bear the name Player of the Year, a term which remains within the MFA`s exclusive domain.

Ten categories are up for grabs with the Best Maltese Player and the Best Foreigner likely to attract most interest. Other categories will reward the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and striker as well as the most promising youngster.

In addition another award will be handed to the best match official and the best coach. An innovative category which is bound to be the talk of the town is the worst gaffe of the season or rather, that one single moment when things take an unexpected twist due to a mistake by one or many people, leaving everyone stunned and bewildered.

There are six nominations for each category with a total of 45 votes available for each section. All the captains of the top flight teams as well their coaches have been asked to vote. Club presidents or their representative have also been approached to vote for the Malta Football Awards along with 15 journalists who regularly report Premier League matches.

Chances are that a player may top the list in two categories but after such a keenly-contested season, it is likely that most, if not all categories, will be too close to call before each and every single vote has been scrutinised.

On the final night, the votes will be vetted and the total computed for each category under the watchful eye of Dr Victor Scerri, who will ensure that the process runs fairly and smoothly.

Those who attend the gala night are in for another surprise as at least two English players, probably Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, will be flying over to Malta for the event after having competed at the World Cup Finals in South Korea and Japan.

The organisers are also striving to lure some top Italian players to our shores for the night but so far this task has proved elusive as practically all the leading Italian players will be deservedly basking away on some sandy riviera prior to the start of yet another demanding season.

However, rumour has it that officials from local Italian supporters` clubs are doing their utmost to convince one or two ace players to grace the Malta Football Awards presentation ceremony.

The Malta Football Awards will also go a step further than any other contests held in the past as Maltese players who turned out for foreign clubs in the previous season will also receive due credit.

It is still very hard for a local lad to make the grade overseas and the organisers have ensured that the feats of Michael Mifsud (Kaiserslautern), Stefan Giglio (CSKA Sofia) and Gilbert Agius (who spent the bulk of the previous season with Pisa) will be honoured on the night.

The contest seems to have all the right ingredients to establish a benchmark for sports gala nights.

I am confident that this event will soon establish itself in the sporting calendar and will be the post-season football highlight.

While the Malta Football Awards may not be a glamourous as parallel events held elsewhere in Europe, they promise to set the stage for the years to come. With live television coverage providing the mileage, the Malta Football Awards should be an instant hit.

As with any other award, the first winners who etch their names on the coveted mementos will also be making history and will definitely be looking back with nostalgia as the years start to take their toll and more names make it into Malta`s hall of fame.

The venue for this year`s event is the Westin Dragonara Resort, one of Malta`s leading hotels, and the maximum seating capacity is some 450 with only an odd hundred tickets available for sale.

If, as expected, the event generates enough hype and success, the organisers may well be facing another headache next year, that of earmarking a larger venue to host the awards.