The European Athletics Association (EAA) gave its thumbs up to preparations by Athletics Malta for the European Team Championships at Marsa between June 18 and 19.

This week, three EAA officials were here to assess the progress of preparations for the two-day event that will attract over 700 athletes and officials to our shores.

The participating countries will be Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Macedonia, Georgia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro and a GSSE selection from San Marino, Monaco and Liechtenstein.

"We are very satisfied with the work carried out so far," Salih Munir, representative of EAA president Hansjorg Wirz, told reporters yesterday.

"We have visited the hotels where delegations will be staying and also toured the athletics stadium at Marsa. We are really pleased with what we saw and, no doubt, the European Team Championships in Malta will be a great success."

Munir said he was impressed that Malta, despite being a small nation, has managed to attract some high-level international events over the past five years and urged the Maltese authorities to increase their support to Athletics Malta.

"In a very short period, Athletics Malta has hosted the EAA Congress, the Calendar Meeting and the European Throwing Championships. Now, this small country has won the right to host the European Team Championships which is the second largest competition organised by the EAA," Munir said.

"This is a clear indication of the great ambition of the Maltese federation. I have seen their project for the athletics stadium and I believe that if this plan is completed it will be huge boost for Maltese sport.

"We now hope that the government and other sporting authorities will provide more funding to this association so athletics can continue to grow."

Tony Chircop, Athletics Malta president, said the organisation of the championships has put a lot of pressure on his association.

"It's not easy to host events of this calibre," Chircop said.

"However, we believe that the best way to motivate our athletes is to give them the opportunity to participate in such major events.

"These championships could also be an opportunity for us to introduce new disciplines in future such as pole vault and the steeplechase which are not so popular in Malta."

Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Clyde Puli hailed Athletics Malta's initiative to stage these championships as it continues to strengthen the country's image as an ideal sporting destination.

"Besides lifting the country's profile, these championships will also pour over €150,000 into our economy. So, we are hopeful that other local federations follow the example of Athletics Malta," Puli said

"We are aware that we need to continue upgrading our facilities to attract more foreigners.

"The Marsa Sports Village plan, which also includes the athletics track, is an integral part of our strategy to boost sports tourism and we are hopeful that once this project is ready, we will be able to host similar international events here."

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