Angelo Chetcuti has pledged his total commitment to help Maltese football move forward after his appointment as the new general secretary of the Malta FA was ratified by the association’s Council during yesterday’s meeting at the Centenary Hall.
“Firstly, I want to thank the Malta FA president (Norman Darmanin Demajo) for the trust he has shown in me,” Dr Chetcuti, who will succeed Bjorn Vassallo, said.
“I’m also encouraged by your positive response as it shows that I also enjoy the faith of the MFA Council.
“Maltese football doesn’t belong solely to us and it’s not confined to these four walls. What I can promise is my total commitment to use all my energy and knowledge for the good of the Maltese game.”
“It’s a big challenge,” Dr Chetcuti added. “I know it’s a very demanding position but I’m approaching it with confidence and a willingness to learn as much as I can so that one will eventually leave his mark. And I hope it will be a positive mark.
“I’m stepping into the big shoes of my predecessor as Mr Vassallo has left his mark and significantly raised the profile of this role. I hope to be up to the task.”
Dr Chetcuti’s nomination as the MFA president’s chosen candidate to take over from the popular Vassallo was greeted with warm applause by the Malta FA Council members who then formally approved his appointment by unanimous agreement.
The 36-year-old Chetcuti, a lawyer who has been working in European Union institutions for more than a decade, has been involved in Maltese football for several years. In addition to his post as vice-president of Birżebbuġa St Peter’s, Dr Chetcuti also represented the Division Two club on the MFA council and was also a member of the association’s Executive Committee.
In July, Dr Chetcuti vied for one of the three MFA vice-president seats but narrowly missed out after finishing fourth in the ballot.
Darmanin Demajo spelt out the reasons that prompted him to offer the general secretary’s position to Dr Chetcuti who is held in very high esteem in the Maltese football community.
“Dr Angelo Chetcuti has, in my opinion, the qualities to occupy this position with honour and integrity,” the MFA president said.
“I therefore nominate Dr Angelo Chetcuti as the new general secretary of the MFA.”
Dr Chetcuti, who will start his new job on December 1, takes over from Vassallo who stepped down late last month after accepting an offer to become director of the European member associations at FIFA.
Dr Angelo Chetcuti has, in my opinion, the qualities to occupy this position with honour and integrity- Darmanin Demajo
Addressing the Malta FA council members before Dr Chetcuti’s nomination as his successor, Vassallo said 10 years have elapsed since he felt a strong urge to do something to try and change the status quo in Maltese football.
This desire to play an active role in the running of Maltese football, Vassallo added, led him to approach and ask Darmanin Demajo, who had served as MFA treasurer in the past, to consider running for president of the local football body.
“It was he (Vassallo) who convinced me to come out of the comfort zone with my club (St Andrews),” Darmanin Demajo, who was voted in as president of the Malta FA in 2010 , said.
“I can’t say that I’m not going to miss him but life goes on and the association will continue to stren-gthen itself with your backing. I have a lot of respect for you, the council members and club officials.”
Vassallo was not the only prominent MFA official to relinquish his position in recent weeks as vice-president Chris Bonett, who also headed the Malta FA’s legal department, also resigned late last month in view of his impending appointment as UEFA integrity officer.
Dr Bonett, who was elected as one of the three MFA vice-presidents for the first time in 2013, expressed his gratitude to the officials and council members for their support and understanding, especially when he was working on a series of tough reforms which may not have necessarily pleased the clubs but were needed for the good of Maltese football in general.
The election for the vice-president’s seat vacated by Dr Bonett, whose work also drew praise from Darmanin Demajo, will be held during an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 6.
Prospective candidates have until November 18 to submit their nomination.
The other two MFA vice-presidents are long-serving officials Ludovico Micallef and Alex Manfrè.
Other matters
■ On the Lithuania-Malta match-fixing probe, Darmanin Demajo said “the news is that we have no news”.
He added that the local body was still awaiting the report drawn up by FIFA under its Early Warning System that had prompted the FIFA match commissioner for last month’s World Cup Group F qualifier to walk into the two teams’ dressing rooms and warn them of irregular betting patterns.
■ The MFA council members yesterday ratified amendments to the association’s doping regulations to bring it in line with WADA’s doping charter.
The amended rules allow FIFA and WADA to challenge doping-related decisions taken by the Malta FA both with the association’s Appeals Board the local association’s organs and at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while the mandatory ban for first-time doping offenders has been increased from two to four years.
■ Qormi FC president Jesmond Aquilina informed the MFA that the club had resolved its dispute with former midfielder George Mallia over unpaid wages.
Darmanin Demajo said he was immensely pleased that the two parties had reached an agreement after the MFA had “reluctantly” suspended the former Malta midfielder for taking legal action against Qormi as this constituted a breach of the association’s regulations.