Julian Pace Bonello has just been confirmed president of the Malta Olympic Committee for another four-year term. He has been occupying the post since 2013 when he succeeded Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco.
Mr Pace Bonello, an avid sportsman with several years of experience in the field, founding the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association in 1975 and being actively involved in the MOC executive committee since 2001 when he was appointed deputy president, was uncontested.
With the week-long Games of the Small States of Europe in San Marino scheduled to start on May 29, the smooth transition from one administration to another ensures that policies and any key initiatives deemed necessary will not be going through bumpy rides at a crucial phase when the build-up of athletes and technical training programmes are at an advanced stage.
However, the MOC’s annual general meeting served to highlight a situation that is staring us in the face but which we do not seem to fully appreciate, especially in terms of its potential consequences. The number of candidates matched exactly the number of officials to be elected: 13.
The only ballot required was to choose a general secretary as the long-serving Joe Cassar, who has been filling the post since 1993, was contested by Marie Therese Cuschieri. Mr Cassar, who, in 2012, had been rebuked by the International Olympic Committee’s ethics commission for having “helped the reputation of the Olympic Movement to be tarnished” (in connection with allegations about irregularities in sale of tickets for the London Games), won with a wide margin.
This must have been the first time in years, if not the first since the MOC was set up in 1928, that the number of candidates was so low. It is indeed sad to realise that people, including former committee officials, with loads of experience and contacts are evidently losing their enthusiasm.
There is no denying that this is not a particularly healthy situation for the MOC and its 41 affiliated associations.
Some delegates, true, very few in number, did not even bother to show up for the annual general meeting and participate in the vote and/or the discussions that ensued on such an important event for the national organisation.
Perhaps, the time is right for the authorities concerned, including the government, through SportMalta, to join forces and summon a national conference where a strategic approach could be seriously discussed and implemented without further delay.
Other attempts of this kind have been made in the past but with little, if any, success.
Politicians, in particular, should stop promising miracle cures to all problems affecting Maltese sport. They must also desist from making pledges they know they cannot keep, as practically happens in annual government budgets year after year.
Voluntary work in the community has always been the forte of this country and that applies to different aspects of daily life, including sport. However, as was evident in the latest annual general meeting of the MOC, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract qualified and committed people, including, of course, sports administrators, willing to give up a good part of their free time for the common good.
Most of the ones already involved dedicate long hours to the sport they love, away from their families and working on a voluntary basis without expecting any remuneration or compensation.