Cottonera and its environs, formerly the cradle of sport in the Maltese Islands, have remained bogged down solely with football and the occasional seasonal rowing.

And even in football, a sport that was born in Cospicua over a century ago, the Three Cities militate only in the First Division and not in the Premier League, while teams from Kalkara, Xgħajra and densely populated towns like Żabbar and Marsa play in lower divisions.

Undoubtedly, youths from this area participate in various sports organised by clubs elsewhere as they have never been given the opportunity to show their talents on home ground.

In all other towns and remote villages all over Malta and Gozo other sports disciplines with well-organised clubs have mushroomed, offering children and youngsters the opportunity to practise athletics, basketball, hockey, swimming, water polo, rugby, judo, wrestling, gymnastics and canoeing.

I hail from this area and I know parents, children and youngsters crave for other sports disciplines as a way of life.

In the 1960s, a group of civic minded gentlemen founded the Vittoriosa Lawn Tennis Club based on Corradino Hill but I wonder if there are 10 members coming from this ancient city – simply because there are no sports leaders or animators to promote the sport.

I know the area very well and I am sure I will be taken to task for exposing this anomaly but in the interest of the rising generation, as usual, I am not scared to place my old head on the Cottonera chopping block.

However, I have to highlight the exceptional feat of the all-conquering Paola football club, Hibernians, by winning the Premier League, not only because of my past association with this historic club, but for being the invincible standard bearers of the inner harbour area and for developing other disciplines with success.

It is inconceivable that while the Three Cities can boast having the largest sports complex on the island – the official headquarters of the Maltese Council for Sport, whose mission statement is the promotion of sport, as well as the hard working Parliamentary Secretary of Youth and Sport residing in Cottonera – no initiative has, to my knowledge, been taken to rectify the matter.