England’s Josh Onomah (left) in action against Mauro Coppolaro, of Italy, during an Elite Round match in Zlin, last month.

Malta U-17 will become the first of our national teams to make a showing in an advanced stage of a UEFA championship when they play in their category tournament finals which will be played here between May 9 and 21.

Sergio Soldano’s team will be the lowest-ranked team in the competition, facing an almost impossible task to follow in the footsteps of Portugal (2003), France (2004) and Germany (2009) who all won the U-17 title on home soil.

However, preparations for this event have been going really well not only for Soldano and his technical staff but also in the organisation aspect which reaches a high this evening when the draw will be held at St James Cavalier, Valletta.

“Tomorrow (today) we will know the outcome of the draw. Everything is in place to welcome the UEFA officials and the delegates of the competing nations for an evening that will mark the start of an important period leading to the final of May 21 at the National Stadium,” MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo told Times of Malta, yesterday.

“For the MFA, this is the biggest event we have organised, one that entails a lot of work, resources and serious planning.”

The other seven teams in the finals will be Switzerland, Turkey, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Scotland and Portugal, all winners of the Elite Round qualifying groups which were completed a few weeks ago.

Holders Russia will not be in the pot today following their shock elimination in Group One which also saw Spain missing out after going down 1-0 to surprise package Switzerland.

Some see Germany and the Netherlands as favourites for the U-17 title but England should not be discarded after wins over Italy, Czech Republic and Albania put them on top in Group Four.

“The Malta squad led by coach Sergio Soldano is working relentlessly so that, regardless of the strength of the opponents in the group stage, our youngsters take to the field filled with confidence and determination to represent the country in the best way possible and to earn the respect of their opponents,” Vassallo said.

“We know that we will be playing against very strong teams in this category but there is no doubt that this opportunity, this experience is bigger than any other challenge.

“So, whatever the results, our duty was to show our young players that you can only grow and mature if you are brave and fearless when facing a challenge.”

Today’s draw will be conducted by UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee chairman Jim Boyce, assisted by tournament ambassadors Fr Hilary Tagliaferro and former Malta international David Carabott.

The eight teams will be split in two groups. Malta will be classified in Group A and the other seven teams will be picked out without further seeding.

Matches will be played at the National Stadium, Hibs Stadium and the Gozo Stadium. The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals (May 18) and the last-four winners will contest the final on May 21 at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali.

“We have an opportunity to make an important advert for the development of football in our country,” the MFA CEO added.

“A final championship is not simply an international match but much more. The level of the facilities and all that is related to matchday operations must meet the standards requested by UEFA and I have to admit this was one of the biggest challenges for the Local Organising Committee.

“You learn from these tournaments but several persons within our fold have already had experience in organising events of this kind and it helps a lot.

“Ludovico Micallef, the MFA vice-president, is a member of the UEFA Youth and Amateur Committee and Joe Cassar, the tournament director, in the past occupied similar roles at UEFA.”

The tournament in Malta will be the last eight-team U-17 finals with the first 16-nation event to be held in Bulgaria next year.