Malta to host U-17 mini-tournament

The draw for the qualifying rounds of the European Championships in the U-17 and the U-19 categories were held yesterday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.

In the U-17 category, Malta were drawn in Group 9 along with Portugal, Norway and Iceland. The mini-tournament will be played in Malta between next September 29 and October 4.

Malta U-19 were drawn in Group 3. They will play against Poland, the Netherlands and San Marino. The four-team tourn­ament will be hosted by San Marino in October next year.

Both qualifying tournaments are played on the same format with the top two teams in each group and the third-placed team with the best record against the leading pair in the section progressing to the elite round of the tournament.

National teams manager Ivan Vella represented the Malta FA during yesterday’s draws.