Sliema, Birkirkara coaches welcome changes to MFA training scheme

For years, the general impression was that the national team and local clubs were not pulling the same rope.

The professional training scheme for national team players, introduced by the Malta FA in the 1980s, was aimed primarily at raising the physical and technical standards of the country's leading lights in the hope of improving our standing in international football.

In its early years, the training scheme reaped the desired dividends as the results of the national team improved but as progress stalled, murmurs of discontent from club coaches grew louder.

Pressure on the Malta FA to overhaul the training scheme increased in recent months with the coaches of the top clubs, especially those of Valletta and Sliema Wanderers, urging immediate action.

Last Saturday, the presidents and coaches of Hibernians, Valletta, Birkirkara and Sliema Wanderers met with national coach John Buttigieg and Malta FA president Joe Mifsud to discuss the matter.

The meeting was viewed as a small but significant step forward and the news that three clubs, Hibs, Birkirkara and Sliema, and Buttigieg reached a verbal agreement to adjust the training schedule was greeted with nods of approval from coaches, administrators and fans.

Under the agreed deal, the national team players will continue to report for training at Ta' Qali every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning but in the evening, there will be only one session, on Tuesday. This means that the players will now have two extra practice sessions with their clubs, i.e. Monday and Wednesday evening.

As Valletta have advanced plans to introduce their own semi-professional scheme in the near future, they are requesting that their players train regularly with coach Ton Caanen. Talks between Caanen and Buttigieg are expected to resume next week but Saturday's discussion made for a good starting point.

"The talks were very positive," Stephen Azzopardi, the coach of Sliema, told The Times.

"This meeting was a move in the right direction. The debate on the training scheme and ways to improve Maltese football in general has been rumbling on for years but it looks like we're finally making concrete efforts to tackle this issue.

"I'm satisfied that we have agreed to amend the schedule so that national team players can spend more time with their clubs.

"For Sliema, this was never a national team-vs-club issue. We want to take our club forward but we also want the level of football in Malta to improve. This also applies to the national team.

"At Sliema, we are striving to improve our set-up. We have added technical and medical staff because our aim is to work as professionally as possible.

"Our new complex at Tigné is almost ready now and we have also hired an executive box at the Millennium Stand to treat our commercial partners and other backers on matchday.

"I was pleased that, during Saturday's meeting, there was a consensus that the MFA coaches and those at the clubs are qualified and professional people. In the past, there was this perception that the level of coaching at clubs left much to be desired but we all agreed that this was no longer the case.

"Teams are rivals on the field of play but I see no reason why the coaches shouldn't share their knowhow and experience. Hopefully all the good things that were said will be put to practice."

At a recent news conference, Paul Zammit, the Birkirkara coach, called for a bold plan to boost Maltese football.

Zammit has been heartened by the outcome of Saturday's discussion but feels that long-term improvement requires a long-term strategy.

"This training scheme has been in force for more than 20 years," Zammit said. "The MFA had devised it years ago because then it was deemed to be beneficial for Maltese football but I feel that it has now become outdated.

"We must look ahead. Local clubs are doing their bit to try and improve but because of certain limitations we've been unable to make giant leaps forward.

"It looks like the national team is passing through a period where it is struggling to find an identity. On the other hand, the clubs have also been hit badly because we're not seeing our international players for the first three days of the week.

"As I said recently, I don't think it would be fair on the national team and the new coaches to draw a line under the scheme but it needed to be revised and changed.

"Saturday's meeting looked into this matter and I believe the agreed changes will help to soften some of the clubs' difficulties.

"Those players who can train during mornings will be able to do so with the national team. When discussing the training of the national team, we can't discard the U-23, U-21 and other age-groups because we also have young players who are in the first-team squad.

"This new arrangement represents a positive step but I still believe that, for the good of our football, we need to strengthen clubs. The MFA should help them become semi-professional at least.

"If the clubs get stronger, the national team will benefit because the players will be better-prepared."