Malta FA technical director Robert Gatt is set to sign a two-year contract extension until June 2016.
The proposal to hand Gatt a new deal was endorsed by the Malta FA’s top brass at their bureau meeting yesterday, sources told Times of Malta. The Malta FA bureau is made up of the association’s president, CEO, three vice- presidents, general secretary and treasurer.
Gatt took over as head of the Malta FA technical centre in January 2011, only months after Norman Darmanin Demajo’s election as president.
The bureau have also cleared the path for Ray Farrugia, the Malta U-21 coach, to become assistant to national coach Pietro Ghedin.
News of Farrugia’s imminent appointment as Ghedin’s right-hand man means that Malta’s 2-1 home defeat to Sweden last month was the last match of his second spell at the helm of the Under-21s.
Farrugia is expected to take up his new role before Malta’s friendly match against Gibraltar in June. His contract will cover the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in which Malta will face Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Norway and Azerbaijan in Group H.
Silvio Vella, who has fulfilled a dual role as Malta U-19 and senior assistant coach since succeeding Branko Nisevic, will swap roles with Farrugia.
The bureau endorsed a recommendation to promote Wayne Attard as coach of the Malta U-19 squad while Sergio Soldano, the youth head coach, is also set to be offered a contract extension.
The same goes for Luca Pagani, the national teams’ physical trainer, while Mark Marlow is the leading candidate to become coach of the national futsal team.
In the past, Marlow, who had spells as coach of Msida St Joseph and Sliema Wanderers, served as assistant to former futsal national coach Michael Striz.
The recommendations of the bureau are expected to be discussed by the Malta FA Executive Committee this afternoon.
The reform of the Premier League format was also on the agenda of yesterday’s MFA bureau meeting.
The format agreed with Premier League clubs is for a three-round championship with points halved after two rounds but no split among the teams.
It is envisaged that there will be only one play-out, between the team finishing third from bottom in the top flight and the third team in Division One while the fixture schedule will be arranged in such way as to ensure that the top two teams at the end of the first two rounds will meet on the final day of the season.
Provided that it receives the green light from the Exco, the proposed format will probably be put forward to the MFA Council at its next meeting later this month.
Meanwhile, the MFA are in the process of transferring the medical and physiotherapy clinic to a new, more spacious location within the Millennium Stand.
The new clinic, which will feature state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment, is expected to be inaugurated in May.
The Local Organising Committee of the UEFA U-17 Championship, being staged in Malta from May 9-21, is expected to meet tomorrow to put the finishing touches on the preparations for next Wednesday’s tournament draw at St James Cavalier, Valletta.