New categories for best O-36 and Div. One players

The Malta Football Awards this year will be held on June 7 at the Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard.

Two new categories, one for the best active player over 36 years and another for the top performer in Division One, have been added to the ever growing list of awards which aim to recognise the endeavours and feats of players and coaches involved in Maltese football throughout the outgoing season.

Details about the fifth edition of the Malta Football Awards were given by organiser Sandro Micallef during a news briefing yesterday in Attard.

Melita Digital have acquired the title sponsorship rights for this year's awards which have also lured the support of several other firms.

With the two new categories, the 2006 Malta Football Awards will comprise 15 main classes:

Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, Best Striker, Most Promising Youngster, Best Coach, Best Foreigner, Best Maltese Player, Best Goal, Best Female Player, Best Player in Futsal (Div. One), Best Player in GFA, the Fans' Best Player, Best Veteran Player and Best Division One Player.

Special awards will again be handed out to persons who, in the opinion of the organising committee, have made an outstanding contribution to the game.

The voting procedure for the main awards, bar the one that will be decided by the public, will be the same as in previous years.

The president, coach and captain of each of the 10 Premier League clubs plus 30 journalists who regularly follow Malta's top football competition, are eligible to vote. The representatives of the clubs cannot nominate members of their own team.

Micallef explained that only active players who have figured in at least 10 games in the 2005-2006 BoV Premier League can be put forward for the Best O-36 Player award.

The Best Division One Player will be determined through a ballot among coaches or representatives of Division One clubs and journalists who follow the league.

Event Services, the organisers of this annual event, have also renewed their agreement with General Soft Drinks over the Fans' Best Maltese Player award.

The public can vote for this award, sponsored by Powerade, by sending a text message with the name of their favourite player on 50614005. Voting for this award will wind up 15 minutes before the scheduled finish of the presentation ceremony on June 7.

Also this year, the category for the top goalkeeper has been renamed the Best Goalkeeper in honour of David Cluett. This came about following the initiative of the Ghaqda Kittieba Sports, who wanted to commemorate the former Malta goalkeeper who died last year.

The GhKS's association with this section means that the winner of the Best Goalkeeper award will receive a trophy which he will retain for good and another one, sponsored by the GhKS, to be kept for one year.

The onus of conducting proceedings during the gala night, to be broadcast live on Melita Sports One, Channel 47 and Information Channel, has been entrusted to popular duo - newscaster and journalist Miriam Dalli and actor Mario Micallef.

The Malta Football Awards enjoy the approval of the Malta FA but organisers have yet to persuade the governing body of local football to sanction awards for best referee and best assistant referee.

The organisers reiterated their wish to include these two categories in their awards as a way of honouring the efforts of match officials but the MFA indicated they were not in favour of such move.