Attracting young hopefuls and nurturing them into top players has always been the mantra of St Andrew’s FC.

Last season, despite having a squad of mainly inexperienced players the Saints still succeeded in winning promotion to the top flight along with neighbours Pembroke Athleta.

Now that they are among the big boys of Maltese football, St Andrew’s have no plans of discarding their philosophy so they have teamed up with Talent Eleven to keep the trend going.

The Switzerland-based organisation, specialising in youth football affairs, will help St Andrew’s continue with their development work in the youth sector for the next three years.

“Developing young players has always been our identity and we are determined to maintain this philosophy even now that we are in the BOV Premier League,” St Andrew’s FC president Jason Falzon told reporters yesterday.

“We were engaged in discussions with Talent Eleven for a few months but today we can confirm that an agreement has been reached. The deal will see both parties work together with the primary goal being to nurture the careers of young players, both local and foreign.

“The main factor which led to this cooperation agreement is that we share the same philosophy towards our sport. Winning is important but our main goal re-mains to give promising players a chance to make the grade.

“This partnership will prove to be a success and we’re also confident the deal can be extended beyond this initial three-year term.”

Denis Guerra, Talent Eleven chief executive officer, said the commitment of St Andrew’s FC towards the youth sector was a decisive factor for his group to enter the joint venture.

“When I spoke with Jason Falzon and he explained his club’s vision on youth policy I immediately felt that it was the perfect partnership for us,” Guerra, who recently ran a football school in Brazil, said.

“We are aware that playing in the Premier League with a young squad may seem risky but if the players get the right preparation, results will come.

“Obviously, the first objective for St Andrew’s should be to keep their place in the Premier League but if that fails to happen it will not be the end of the world. Our long-term project is to produce quality players, ones that can make it abroad in future.”

This season, St Andrew’s will be under the charge of Wayne Attard.

He quit his post of Malta U-19 coach to return to the club he managed two years ago. Attard will replace Brian Said who led the team to promotion in 2014-15.

“I am really pleased to be back at St Andrew’s,” Attard said.

“I have always given importance to youth development and when the club offered me this opportunity to be part of this project I accepted to join in.

“Our squad will be relatively young compared to other Premier League clubs but there will be competition for places and great hunger to succeed.”

New season

St Andrew’s started their pre-season training yesterday and they have already completed their first signing this summer when defender Nick Ghio joined from Fgura United.

The recruitment of foreign players is in the hands of Paolo Fiori.

“We have already started our selection process and shortlisted 12 players between 18-22 years. They will be here soon to start a trial,” Fiori said.

“Although teams can field up to seven foreigners in the Premier League, our aim is to have a maximum of five in our first XI. That way we’ll give more space for local players to shine.”

It was also confirmed yesterday that a German betting firm – Tipico Careers – will be the main sponsors for St Andrew’s for the new season.

“We are honoured to be teaming up with St Andrew’s FC,” Kevin Norville, Tipico Careers chief, said.

“Malta has opened its doors for our company and we want to give something back to the society. This sponsorship agreement with St Andrew’s is a perfect match for us.

“This sponsorship will also help those families in need, those parents unable to have their children playing football due to various problems.

“We are going to provide them with kits and all the apparel they need so they can enjoy playing their favourite game.

“We expect this to be the start of a long partnership with St Andrew’s FC.”