Bill seen as increasing government role in sports

Labour MP Joe Cilia said yesterday that the Sports Bill would give politicians a greater role in sports when, ideally, this sector should be run with the least government interference possible.

Speaking in parliament during the debate on the bill, Notary Cilia criticised the way the Department of Sports would be replaced by a revamped sports council appointed almost exclusively by the government. The way the council was to be reconstituted was a retrograde step which almost totally left out representatives of sports organisations, he said.

What would become of the staff of the department?

Notary Cilia said he could not understand how the government expected the council to be self-financing, given its many responsibilities. Had the government calculated what its budget would be, and how it would get its funds?

This bill, he said, would not lead to the much needed coordination of the various sectors of sports. Indeed, he could not even see coordination in the way financial assistance by the government was channelled to sports organisations. One could have organisations receiving funds from the ministry responsible for sports and from lotteries through the Finance Ministry, while other organisations remained without such assistance.

It was good that the Sports Fund introduced by the Labour government, was being retained. Accounts and a statement of how contributions were made, should be published regularly. Importantly, the administration of the fund should not be in the hands of the government. The way the bill was worded enabled the minister to use this fund as he deemed fit, even for non-sports activities.

Intervening, Parliamentary Secretary Jesmond Mugliett said the money in the Sports Fund would be used for the development of sports facilities or other purposes which the minister may allocate, such as sports tourism. The use of the funds would be exclusively for sports.

Notary Cilia said he was pleased that that was the government's intention, but that was not what the wording of the bill provided.

Continuing, he asked if the government had committed itself to help Hamrun Spartans football club to build a club house. Was it true that it had forwarded Lm5,000 for this purpose, but the funds were used instead to pay the players? This bill should guard against such possibilities.

The Labour MP said he agreed with the requirements of the bill on the registration of sports associations so that they may be eligible for assistance. No assistance should be given to registered associations whose statute did not specifically provide against doping.

He asked what had happened to plans for government employees to be seconded to sports associations, as a form of direct assistance.

Sports associations and those who sponsored them should also benefit from tax credits.

Turning to the transfer of sports facilities from the government to sports associations, Notary Cilia said a long running argument was whether such facilities should be transferred to local councils or the associations. His view was that it should be the associations which should benefit. The bill, however, would rekindle this argument as it provided that facilities could be rented to the councils for five years.

He was against the new procedure whereby emphyteutical transfer of sports facilities would be made by presidential order on the advice of the minister of sports. He felt this procedure lacked transparency and consideration by a parliamentary committee would have been better.

Mr Joseph Cuschieri (MLP) said this bill said nothing about sports tourism. This was an area which had huge potential for development, particularly with regard to diving holidays. As for land sports, should facilities be developed, Malta could serve as a training camp for sportsmen from colder countries.

He said sports needed to be given greater importance in schools. Teachers needed to be trained not only in sports but in aspects of physical fitness such as healthy diets.

He also called for a greater sense of professionalism and discipline to be instilled in Malta's athletes so that they could be more successful in competitions. This, he said, should start with greater professionalism among administrators and trainers. In an increasingly commercial world, sports organisations should not be run in an amateurish way and the people in charge should be better versed in management.

There was also need for private firms to be associated with professionally-run sports associations.

Transport Minister Censu Galea said awareness of the importance of sports was rising, as was the importance being given to sports in schools. This was evidenced by the growing number of sports facilities in schools. Sports was no longer considered a waste of time.

Mr Galea welcomed the fact that the number of football nurseries was rising. There were now some 50 nurseries having approximately 100 young members each. This showed that young people were involved in sports on a regular basis.

Maltese athletes were participating in a wider range of sport disciplines and were obtaining results, although this was not that common. It certainly was not easy to win trophies or gold medals when competing with foreigners.

The government, he said, was investing heavily in sports facilities and the availability of such facilities had increased substantially over the past few years. He still felt, however, that sports facilities in schools should be open to the public. Perhaps ways could be found for sports facilities in hotels to be also available to the public.

Ms Rita Law (MLP) insisted on legislation to ensure that adverts on sports-related equipment and medicines gave a proper indication of what their users could achieve, how that would be achieved, and side effects which could result.

She observed that participation in sports often came with a financial cost. The fact that some parents could not enroll their children to participate in sports could therefore be a form of discrimination.

Ms Law called for better sports facilities to be made available for persons with disabilities.

The Labour MP said government assistance to sports associations and greater emphasis on sports in education would lead to greater self-discipline and better health for Malta's young.