The Armed Forces of Malta will be recruiting national and elite athletes who will still be able to practise their sport while serving as soldiers.

It has issued a call for applications for the recruitment of athletes who will serve in a specialised unit with two levels of training. In the first, soldiers will train for 20 hours and serve as soldiers for another 20 hours a week. The other will cater for soldiers who will practise a sport for a full 40 hours weekly.

The unit will be led by an army officer and the Malta Sports Council will take care of the training.

National sports associations can nominate candidates to form part of the new unit. The selection process will be handled by the AFM and the council. The government said this was another measure it was taking to help the sport elite.

Top athletes in the civil service were already granted paid leave to participate in sports events abroad. About 186 athletes were granted a total of 925 days of leave last year.

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