Chris Agius

The Iceland national football team qualified for the Euro 2016 finals in France and had a good run, only bowing out to France in the quarter finals. In the process, they beat England and drew against Portugal.

It had been a long road getting there. In the Euro 2000 qualifiers, they amassed a total of 15 points and four years later they missed out after the play-offs.

But this wasn’t a sporting one-off. Iceland’s participation in the Olympic Games has resulted in two silver, including one obtained in a team sport (man’s handball), and two bronze medals.

These successes over the years have made sport an attraction for both the Icelandic population and neighbouring countries. The Icelandic government believed that sport was an important pillar of its economy. So, many open spaces were transformed into indoor and outdoor sports facilities. This was witnessed by many Maltese athletes and officials who were present for the different editions of the Games for Small States of Europe. Moreover, investment in grassroots sport, and sport for all, made the talent pool for selection much wider, year after year.

Although comparisons are odious, Malta’s national team was never close to winning a qualifying place to a top tournament.

Iceland is much bigger than Malta but its population is smaller. Iceland has a very different climate than ours with much colder, longer winters.

So what has been the reason behind Iceland’s continued success in football?

As was done in Malta, both by the MFA and the YFA, Iceland initiated a training programme for coaches, leading to Uefa A and B and Pro licences. In Malta, clubs sometimes struggle to find qualified coaches but in Iceland more than 70 per cent of coaches have a Uefa B licence and about 30 per cent have Uefa A, which is unprecedented in Europe. So players of all age groups, especially younger ones, have fully qualified coaches.

We need a holistic approach to promote sports as a career and this needs sacrifice and long-term preparation

But the biggest and most significant difference between the two islands is the decision of many Icelandic players to seek new pastures abroad. Almost all the players of the Iceland national league team play in leagues across Europe. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Malta.

The number of Maltese players who have played abroad is very small. Does this mean we lack talent? From my point of view, this is definitely not the case. I am convinced we have a considerable number of players who can make the grade abroad.

So what is holding Maltese players from going abroad while Icelandic players, seeking footballing careers abroad, are increasing in numbers?

The reasons may be many but I believe that the two main ones are the climatic conditions of the islands and the comfort zones children are brought up in.

While Icelandic youths have to face long cold winters, Maltese youths enjoy long hot summers. Maltese youths are more ready to remain in the family environment and are not prepared for the big leap or bigger challenges.

I believe we need a change in mentality to persuade parents of talented footballers to help them in their decision to move abroad. I have seen too many parents who are against their children moving abroad to secure a professional contract.

We also need a holistic approach to promote sports as a career and this needs sacrifice and long-term preparation. We should bring together all stakeholders, namely the Education Department, SportMalta, the Malta Olympic Committee and the top associations to set up a more solid and concrete structure and campaign for our athletes.

We must also secure top qualified coaches, not only for the best teams or athletes but the grassroots too.

Chris Agius is Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport.

Matthew Paris

Size matters! This has been the justification put forward by many to pardon most, if not all, sports humiliations suffered by our tiny country over the past years. Nowadays, we are being told that size does not matter, after all.

Whereas size might have a bearing on the stature of the local game, it wasn’t and will never be the be-all and end-all. The formula is composed of a host of many other elements, which, domestically, have been sidelined or given minimal importance. If size were really the only element, Greece, Denmark and Portugal would have never made it, nor would have Iceland and Wales progressed to the Euro finals in France.

In 2016, Iceland have shown us mere mortals that ‘Yes, we-can’, mostly through the magnificent footwork, the impressive teamwork, the splendid tactical discipline and the superb support (on the sidelines). Whereas circa 30 years ago Malta beat Iceland and some 10 years ago Iceland and Malta shared the spoils, the Reykjavik troops have managed to take the game to the next level.

Over the past years, Malta did manage to register important results, such as the draw away to Bulgaria or winning versus Lithuania at Ta’ Qali. The Italy matches, although we ended up empty handed, did provide inspiring performances. Notwithstanding, they are too insufficient for us to rejoice.

It would be unfair to blame it all on the athletes. Nor am I pointing any fingers at the top brass, I am simply pointing one finger towards myself, as a football administrator: I could and should have done more for the local game.

Malta has invested tens of millions in football over the past decade, however, we have registered a negative ROI

I do concede we all failed in our pursuits, however, I am likewise totally convinced that we can all do much more to take the game to where it truly belongs.

Tackling one aspect, over the past decade, the Maltese senior team had four gaffers all coming from different schools and all having contrasting styles.

Roundabout the same period of the creation of the Klinsmann-Loew tandem (with the specific aim of having the former mentoring the latter and grooming him to become the next national team coach), Malta installed its very own German Horst Heese and his understudy, Carmel Busuttil. Whereas the German experiment survived the test of time and Loew remains head coach of the German side, the Maltese version disbanded within three years.

This brought about a second overhaul, with the installation of the soft spoken Czech mentor – Dusan Fitzel, who remained in his position for three years.

Then came the third change, which thereby led to the installation of the Maltese duo John Buttigieg and Carmel Busuttil in 2009. The pair were unceremoniously removed in 2012 by the newly-installed Darmanin Demajo administration and Italian Pietro Ghedin was back.

Whereas some might claim constant change does not have a negative impact on local football, to my view these half-baked changes only served to bring about instability, in turn, fuelling uncertainty.

Piecemeal approaches have been the order of the game. Clearly, they have failed. Malta has invested tens of millions in football over the past decade, however, we have registered a negative ROI. This should bring about an in-depth analysis.

It is time to understand the present, to shape the future. We have little (or none at all) knowledge about the audience of the local game, we make insufficient use of technological advances to improve athletes, we give deficient importance to sports psychology and the competitive advantage it could bring, we underestimate the importance of administration within local clubs, nurseries or football academies.

There is so much we can do to advance. There is much more we can invest in. There is so much room for improvement!

Football in Malta requires a complete overhaul. We should stop talking change, we should simply make it happen.

Matthew Paris is Nationalist Party election candidate.

If you would like to put any questions to the two parties in Parliament send an e-mail marked clearly Question Time to editor@timesofmalta.com.