Mifsud reiterates MFA's tough stance on fight against corruption

The Malta FA yesterday called a media conference at Ta' Qali with the main item on the agenda being a series of events to mark the 100th anniversary of the first league championship played on our shores.

However, MFA president Joe Mifsud instead dedicated most of his time to reaffirm the association's tough stance on its fight against corruption after Maltese football was thrown into disarray earlier this week when council delegates decided to suspend the Premier League championship which had kicked off on August 21.

On Monday, club officials voted in favour of stopping the Premier League with immediate effect, at least until September 17, giving more time for two cases of match-fixing involving clubs from the top flight to be completed and procedures possibly concluded by the various boards within the MFA.

Vittoriosa Stars FC were found guilty of match-fixing last month.

The Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices handed them a hefty €4,000 fine and the club was demoted to Division One.

The MFA, at first, opted for a nine-team championship, deciding against a replacement for Vittoriosa. But club delegates objected strongly on Monday and ultimately convinced the association to reverse its decision and stick to a ten-team format in both Premier League and Division One.

Dr Mifsud said that the MFA was ready to step up its fight against those damaging the reputation of the game and there will be no leniency with those found guilty.

"This season, the Malta FA will be marking the 100th year since the first league championship was played in 1909-10. This will also coincide with the 50th anniversary since we became a full member at FIFA," Dr Mifsud said.

"These are historic events but, unfortunately, our milestones came at a time when we are dealing with cases of match-fixing that go back to the previous season.

"These incidents have caused serious damage to our football's reputation. We can't be passive in all this so we have to fight back to repair the credibility of Maltese football.

"As president of the MFA, I can assure you that we are doing everything possible to try and clean up our game after what happened and the cases of bribery.

"I think we have taken the right decision to deal with these cases openly and we seriously want to investigate each and every case and punish anyone who is found guilty of harming our game."

Dr Mifsud confirmed that apart from the two cases involving Vittoriosa Stars and Marsaxlokk, there are other investigations of bribery attempts going on but these deal mainly with clubs from the lower two divisions.

"We cannot predict what the board's verdicts will be," he said.

"These are serious matters and we can't rush into a decision and stop all competitions. The process is long and we have to be patient. When the verdict is reached, we will act accordingly but up to now we can't say that any other championship will be delayed this season."

Blatter's visit

Among the events marking the MFA festivities this season will be a referees seminar later on this year and the UEFA Congress in January.

UEFA president Michel Platini will be present for the Congress and the special guest for the occasion will be FIFA head Sepp Blatter.

This month, the MFA will hold the first draw of the National League Anniversary Cup, a knock-out competition which carries the same format of the 2000 Centenary Cup that involved all affiliated clubs and football organisations.

"This will be a busy period for our association," Dr Mifsud said.

"There will be numerous sports dignitaries visiting our country and Malta will be in the spotlight in European football during the UEFA Congress. All this will certainly add to the game's popularity here, hopefully attracting more young people to practise this sport."

Dr Mifsud added that the MFA has just received a €500,000 grant from FIFA under the scheme Win For Europe which helps small football organisations like the MFA to embellish its stadiums and the existing facilities.

"We want to use this grant to the maximum," he said.

"Besides refurbishing projects, we also intend to install a CCTV system at the National Stadium, aimed to increase security during matches.

"This will help us to single out trouble-makers and those damaging our property."

Women's World Cup

The Maltese national women's team will be taking part in the World Cup qualifying phase.

Pierre Brincat's team was pitted in the same group with England, Austria, Turkey and Spain when the draw was made last month.

The national team starts its commitment with a home match against Spain on September 19. This will be followed by a trip to England next month.