The Liguria amateur tournament

In September 1963, the Malta FA accepted an invitation from the Maltese Olympic Committee to send a team to Naples for the Mediterranean Games. Malta had a very good youth side in those days, most of whom were amateurs. It was, therefore, not difficult for national coach Joe Griffiths to put together a strong Amateur XI.

Preparations started in earnest and at first everything seemed to be going smoothly. However, when Valletta were drawn against Dukla Prague in the European Cup, Griffiths was deprived of some of his best players.

Charlie Williams, Tony Calleja and Vassallo brothers, Paul and Vincent, were forced to pull out of the squad because of their club commitments.

Finding himself with a depleted squad, Griffiths asked for permission to call on players with Form K status for the Med. Games. The MOC, however, turned down his request on the grounds that semi-professionalism broke the Olympic code of sportsmanship.

The team that finally went to Naples was made up only of pure-bred amateurs. Once there, however, (as Griffiths so aptly wrote in his autobiography), the Maltese found themselves like the proverbial 'babes in the wood'.

Somewhat naively, they grappled in an amateurish way with experienced professionals from other nations whose only qualification for the Games was that they were the best in their countries. And this should be added to the fact that they were being paid for playing football in one way or another!

It is no wonder that tiny Malta was mercilessly slaughtered in the four games played in Naples. It is enough to say that Malta did not even score a goal while conceding 18.

When the squad returned home, Griffiths prepared a detailed report of the team's difficult experience abroad. Luckily, the MFA president, Eugenio Bonello, shared the coach's views about this controversial matter of amateur status. He lobbied incessantly in the right places to obtain permission for Malta to use Form K players in future amateur events. His pleas did not fall on deaf ears and his request was eventually accepted.

In the meantime, Malta received an invitation to take part in the first UEFA amateur tournament which was to be held in Liguria, Italy. For this competition, invitations were also extended to such strong nations as France, Germany and Spain. This time, the prestige of the Maltese game was upheld by the squad, ably led by Karm Borg.

The Amateur XI gave an excellent account of themselves in Liguria and achieved the best results obtained up to that time by a Maltese team abroad.

Malta lost its first match in Liguria 1-3 against Spain but then beat the Italians 2-1 with goals from Robbie Buttigieg and Ronnie Cocks. And, as if this prestigious victory was not enough, the team went on to draw 3-3 with Holland and lose 4-2 to France.

The team that left such a positive impression in Liguria was made up of Freddie Debono, Lino Falzon, Salvu Gatt, Charlie Williams, Joe Cilia, Robbie Buttigieg, Ronnie Cocks, Joe Cini, Tony Cauchi, Josie Urpani and Vincent Vassallo. Zarenu Alamango and Eddie Theobald also made appearances as substitutes.

All these players had Form K status. They worked during the day and earned some money in the evening for training with their clubs. They were not given anything by the MFA for their efforts. Their only remuneration was the pride of wearing the colours of their country.