‘A perfect fit’ is how Erik Grohman, commercial director of Maltese-based I-gaming brand Betsson.com, described their newly-established partnership with Valletta FC after the two parties agreed a two-year sponsorship deal.

“We at betsson are passionate about sport and we love football,” Grohman told a news conference yesterday. “We are committed to conducting our business in Malta and we believe in supporting the society and sport.

“Valletta are striving to retain the championship and their targets go beyond that. It’s a perfect fit. We like to associate ourselves with the best and this is why we have chosen Valletta.”

Under the agreement, betsson’s distinct orange logo is to be displayed prominently on the front of Valletta’s shirts. The Maltese champions are only the second club to get betsson on board after English Premier League giants Arsenal.

“We have signed an official partnership with Arsenal FC,” Grohman said. “I believe we now have two strong partnerships with two strong football clubs.”

Victor Sciriha, the Valletta president, said his club was proud to be associated with betsson.

“I would like to thank Erik Grohman and betsson for agreeing to sponsor our club for the next two years,” Sciriha said.

“I can assure betsson that they have made the right decision as the stature of Valletta FC guarantees significant exposure to our sponsors. For the last three years, we had Mare Blu as our main sponsors and I want to thank Giovanni Cappitta (director of Mare Blu and Valletta’s senior vice-president) for his support.”

While reiterating his ambition for Valletta to advance in the Champions League, Sciriha is confident that the summer capture of Michael Mifsud will have a positive effect on the team’s preparations for their European commitments next season.

“I’m sure that we will repay betsson’s faith in our club,” Sciriha said. “Our aim is not only to win the domestic league, we want to progress in Europe. I believe that we will be better prepared for the Champions League next season. We’ve got the right players and if we need to further strengthen our squad in January, we will do it.

“We’re in a better position now because Michael Mifsud has a five-year contract with Valletta. That was one of the difficulties we encountered in the past few years as we didn’t know Michael’s plans. He’s is a difficult person to negotiate with but once the contract is signed, he’s a very nice boy. We have several players in the national team and this underlines the strength of our squad. We will keep working to give our loyal fans what they deserve.”

Sciriha bemoaned the fact that Valletta have to share the gate revenue with the opposing team despite having more fans. “We also sponsor the other clubs,” the outspoken Valletta president remarked.

“When Valletta are in action, the attendance at the stadium is high but not so can be said for the other matches. The gate income is divided between the clubs but I don’t think this is fair on Valletta. I hope that this policy is changed in the near future.”

Sciriha also said that Valletta are hopeful of initiating their ground project in the Ħal-Farruġ area before the end of the year. The champions have opted for a natural grass pitch as, in Sciriha’s words, this is better for the players.

Inter friendly

While speaking about Valletta’s plans to play an annual friendly against a foreign club during Christmas time, Sciriha revealed the reasons behind the cancellation of their proposed warm-up against Serie A giants Inter last month.

“We had all but agreed to host Inter for a friendly match here in August but what happened was that their coach (GianPiero Gasperini) didn’t want to play here because of the heat,” Sciriha said.

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