Abdelkarim Nafti (right) is one of four Valletta FC players travelling to Rome in a last-ditch effort to obtain a UK visa in time for a crucial Europa League qualifying tie in Wales.

Four Valletta FC footballers are due to fly to Rome tomorrow in the hope of securing UK visas to be able to play in Wales in the wake of administrative changes by the British consular office in Malta.

The team, which will be travelling to Wales tomorrow afternoon, has been drawn to face Welsh side Newtown AFC in the first round of qualifying for the Europa League, with the first leg in Wales scheduled for Thursday.

Club president Victor Sciriha told Times of Malta officials had visited the offices of visa agency Teleperformance, which handled visa applications on behalf of the British High Commission, last Tuesday, the day after the draw was made.

However, they were informed that the earliest possible appointment was on July 7, five days after the match, because the visa application centre only opened for four hours every two weeks.

The four players who require a visa to travel to Wales are Tunisian Abdelkarim Nafti and new signings Umeh Calictus, from Nigeria, Thierry Tazemeta, from Equatorial Guinea, and Moldovian Maxim Focsa.

It was easier for us to obtain visas to go to countries like Belarus and Azerbaijan than to enter the UK

A spokeswoman for the British High Commission said that since the diplomatic mission no longer administered the visa process, they were “unable to intervene or expedite the process”.

The spokeswoman added that the UK Visa and Immigration office had been in touch with Valletta FC on Friday and offered them the opportunity for their players to submit their applications in Rome.

Mr Sciriha said the situation was further complicated because today – the feast of St Peter and ­­St Paul – was a holiday in Rome, meaning the visa applications could only be made tomorrow, two days before the game.

“We’re hoping that they can apply for their visas tomorrow and receive them on the same day or they won’t make it to Wales in time to train for the game,” he said. “It is ridiculous when you think that it was easier for us to obtain visas to go to countries like Belarus and Azerbaijan than to enter the UK.”

Mr Sciriha said he had previously spoken to UEFA officials who informed him that they had been in contact with the Welsh FA and the British Foreign Office but had not been able to solve the problem.

The absence of four key players would seriously jeopardise Valletta’s chances of progressing to the next qualifying round of the Europa League, which would bring in some €210,000 in UEFA revenue.