Hosting the UEFA Under-17 Championship is tantamount to an Olympian challenge for a small country like Malta but the MFA are working tirelessly to put on an unforgettable event between May 9 and 21.
The annual tournament will feature seven of the leading European nations at youth level plus Malta who qualify automatically as hosts.
Norman Darmanin Demajo, the Malta FA president, acknowledged that the eight-nation tournament will pose a mammoth challenge, administrative and technical, but he’s confident that the association will pass the test with flying colours.
“This is the fourth biggest tournament on UEFA’s calendar,” Darmanin Demajo said during the championship’s launch at the Grand Hotel Excelsior yesterday.
“This competition is the cradle of European football. It attracts scouts from the world over and, over the years, some great players have emerged from this tournament.
“From a technical point of view, it’s like putting Malta in the quarter-finals of a World Cup or European Championship as eight teams take part in this tournament.
“Naturally, we are a bit concerned about the size of the challenge awaiting our youngsters in this top competition but I have full faith in our technical director Robert Gatt and his assistant Jesmond Abela.
“I’m convinced that, on the day, our kids will go out on the pitch and give their best.”
The Malta FA head appealed for unity and co-operation in light of the controversy surrounding their collaboration agreement with V18 (Valletta European Capital of Culture 2018).
“Lately there has been some negative publicity about our Memorandum of Understanding with V18 for the UEFA U-17 Championship,” Darmanin Demajo said.
“The Maltese have a tendency of creating a polemic out of nothing. As far as football is concerned, we’ve got no problems with anyone.
“All the matches from the UEFA U-17 Championship will be shown live on Eurosport.
“Every match will be preceded by a 30-second postcard on Malta and our culture. This is a rare opportunity to promote our country to a worldwide audience and this is why we approached the likes of the Malta Tourism Authority, V18 and Air Malta to be part of this.
“Football is part of our culture, the same as feasts, carnival and politics.
“Let’s unite... we can only become stronger by working together.”
Bjorn Vassallo, the Malta FA CEO, gave details about the logistical aspect of the tournament, now in its 13th edition.
This year’s UEFA U-17 Championship will be the last to feature eight teams as next year’s tournament, to be held in Bulgaria, will be expanded to 16.
On the participation of the Malta U-17 team in May’s tournament, Vassallo said: “When Liechtenstein hosted this event, they withdrew their team from the competition due to the high standards of the opponents but we took a different view.
“We were keen to grasp the opportunity to give a once-in-a-lifetime experience to our youngsters.”
The draws for the championship will be made on April 9 at St James Cavalier. The group matches will be played on May 9, 12 and 15 across three stadiums, the National Stadium, Hibs Stadium and Gozo Stadium.
The semi-finals will be on May 18 and the final on May 21, with the last three matches being played at the National Stadium.
Twenty-eight nations are vying for the seven spots in the final tournament. The Elite Qualifying Round matches are to be completed by the end of March.
Hundreds of observers are expected to travel to Malta for the tournament with UEFA requesting 35 seats for scouts at every game.
UEFA also announced recently that it planned to test the so-called vanishing spray, seen as a way to make life easier for referees and players alike, at the U-17 Championship in Malta.
Ambassadors
The MFA have appointed six ambassadors for the tournament.
These are Fr Hilary Tagliaferro, the president of the Youth FA, and the five players to make more than 100 appearances for the national team, namely David Carabott, Gilbert Agius, Carmel Busuttil, Joe Brincat and Michael Mifsud, the current Malta captain.
UEFA head Michel Platini is expected to be present for the final while Jim Boyce, the chairman of UEFA’s youth and amateur committee and FIFA vice-president, will be here for most of the tournament.
In the coming days, the MFA will embark on a promotional campaign, entitled Reach Out. It will target various sectors of the local society, including youth players at local nurseries, youth centres, open centres, clubs and media houses.
Joe Cassar, the tournament director, said the biggest challenge for the organisers was to entice local fans to the tournament and, to this end, the prices of the tickets will be very reasonable.
The MFA have been heartened by the response for its volunteers programme as 300 persons applied to be part of the tournament.
Robert Gatt, the MFA technical director, said the Malta U-17 squad, under the guidance of coach Sergio Soldano, is made up of 23 players drawn from 10 local clubs and two foreign (Chievo and Manchester City).
Between February 23 and March 2, the Malta U-17 team will take part in a friendly tournament in Italy.