It will be a new experience for most of the Malta U-17 components between tomorrow and Sunday as they will be competing in the Men’s Junior Water-polo Qualification Tournament Group D at Tal-Qroqq.
The matches will be valid for the inaugural European Games to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, between June 12 and 21.
Malta will host the ten Group D matches, with the other junior national teams hailing from Germany, Great Britain, Latvia and Switzerland.
There are 22 teams making up four groups, with the first two-placed countries in each section proceeding to the finals together with the seven top European countries who qualified for the junior continental championships finals last year, and hosts, Azerbaijan.
Details of the upcoming tournament were given by ASA president Joe Caruana Curran and head coach Karl Izzo during a press conference yesterday.
Caruana Curran said that the tournament will be the culmination of months of preparation for our boys which comprised a programmed work-out with different training schedules during which the squad was gradually trimmed down to 13 players.
“The hard work of the boys, their commitment and dedication throughout their preparation period is commendable,” Caruana Curran said, adding that the technical staff were fully engaged in tuning the players to the best possible levels.
The ASA chief also referred to the co-operation and financial support from the authorities, including the Kunsill Malti għall-Isport, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth and Sport and the Maltese Olympic Committee who have allocated funds to back up the technical work.
Izzo, flanked by his assistant Anthony Farrugia, gave details of our opponents in the group.
He stated that from the information he gathered Germany are the strongest side, with Britain also possessing valid physical elements.
“We can probably compete with the Brits and the Swiss and that gives us a chance to qualify for the Games in Baku if we can play to our full potential,” Izzo remarked.
“The boys need all the support they can get especially from schoolchildren who can avail themselves of free entrance to the pool at Tal-Qroqq. They have worked responsibly and with great dedication.”
International schedule
During the press conference, which was also attended by vice-presidents Simon Galea Testaferrata and Karl Galea, and secretary Rita Azzopardi, details were given of the full waterpolo and swimming international programmes.
These include the next stage of the Euro 2016 qualifiers, the Comen and Malta Cup as well as the EU 8 Nations Tournament for seniors, another tournament for juniors, and the GSSE 2015 in Iceland plus the European Games where Malta will be represented by 14 swimmers.
Final squad
J. Tanti, J. Abela, M. Azzopardi, K. Navarro, L. Calleja (Neptunes), B. Plumpton (captain), J. Galea, D. Zammit, F. Buhagiar (San Ġiljan), D. Fenech, M. Manara, J. Gambin (Sliema), J. Sciberras (Sirens).
Programme
Tomorrow: 17.00 Germany vs Britain; 18.15 Malta vs Latvia.
Friday: 9.00 Latvia vs Britain; 10.15 Switzerland vs Malta; 17.00 Germany vs Latvia; 18.15 Britain vs Switzerland.
Saturday: 17.00 Germany vs Switzerland; 18.15 Malta vs Britain.
Sunday: 9.30 Malta vs Germany; 10.45 Switzerland vs Latvia.