Players’ body seeks MFA recognition

The Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) has written to the MFA asking for recognition from the governing body of local football.

The request by the newly-established players’ association, which has been set up under the auspices of the General Workers Union, was revealed yesterday when Norman Darmanin Demajo, the president of the Malta FA, read out the MFPA letter during a council meeting at the Centenary Hall.

A debate about the MFPA’s request ensued with the majority of the clubs’ representatives on the council voicing their opposition to the idea of recognising the players’ body which is likely to pursue full affiliation to the Malta FA in the future.

The MFPA proposal will now be directed to the relevant committee within the Malta FA which will examine the applicant’s statute before making recommendations on the matter. A decision on the MFPA request is expected to be taken during the MFA’s annual general meeting on July 23.

This week, a delegation from the MFPA, headed by president Anthony Galea, will travel to Greece to attend a meeting of FIFPro, the worldwide representative organ-isation for professional football players. The MFPA has already submitted an application to become a member of FIFPro.

It was also announced yesterday that plans to install a new computerised ticketing system for football matches organised by the Malta FA are at an advanced stage.

The ticketing software has already been chosen and Malta FA CEO Bjorn Vassallo is hopeful that the system will be introduced for Premier League matches by the start of the 2011/12 championship.

All the members of the clubs’ committees were approved by the MFA during yesterday’s council meeting.

Two long-standing members of the Malta FA Executive Committee, namely Joe Gauci (Birkirkara) and Charles Calleja (Gozo FA), can’t seek re-election at the association’s next AGM as they no longer form part of the committee of the club and association they represented in the past.

The closing date for nominations for the Malta FA Executive Committee elections is tomorrow.

Gerard Ellul has relinquished his post as Vittoriosa Stars’ secretary and council member after taking up the role of team manager at Valletta.

Frank Camilleri, the former general secretary of the Malta Basketball Association, will represent Floriana on the Malta FA council in 2011/12, replacing Matthew Paris.

Meanwhile, season 2010/11 was archived on Friday night when the Malta FA organised its annual football awards ceremony at the Hotel Le Meridien & Spa, St Julians.

In his opening address, Darmanin Demajo, the MFA president, expressed his appreciation for the work of the media, the coaches and educators, club presidents, sponsors, the Youth FA and all the players who are contributing towards the progress of the game, adding that all the stakeholders deserve an award for their efforts.

He stressed that the association is committed to strive harder in all sectors towards the continued promotion of football in Malta.

In the coming days, high-ranking MFA officials are due to hold talks with representatives of Bank of Valletta and Maltco over an extension of the sponsorship deals for the national leagues and the KO competitions.

The long-term sponsorship agreements with the two companies expired at the end of last season but the Malta FA top brass are believed to be highly optimistic about renewing the contracts with both BOV and Maltco.

MFA officials will also be meeting the members of the Standing Committees of all divisions (Premier League to Division Three) to discuss the distribution of the gate receipts for season 2011/12.

August friendlies

Malta are set to face Central African Republic in a friendly match on August 10, sources have told The Sunday Times.

The Malta FA has been engaged in efforts in the past few weeks to arrange the traditional August warm-up for the senior national team.

Malta FA officials made contact with their counterparts from the Central African Republic after the latter indicated their willingness to send their national team to play a friendly match against Malta.

The August friendly has become an annual fixture on the national team’s calendar as it is seen as a useful test beforethe resumption of Malta’s qualifying campaign for the World Cup or European Champ-ionship.

Malta, who have not gained a point from their opening six Euro 2012 qualifiers, host Croatia on September 2.

Last year, Malta drew with 1-1 with Macedonia in a friendly match that was played only four days after Darmanin Demajo was elected MFA president.

Meanwhile, Malta’s Under 21 team could also meet African opponents next month after it was revealed that Ivory Coast U-21 have in principle accepted to play a friendly against Ray Farrugia’s team on August 9.

On a high after gaining four points from their opening away qualifiers against Finland (0-0) and Lithuania (2-1), Malta U-21 will be using their August friendly to improve their match sharpness ahead of their home qualifier against Slovenia on September 1.