The Labour administration was conscious from the start about the need to provide incentives for sport, aware of its importance to the Maltese economy.
The Labour Electoral Manifesto of 2013 promised to set up SportMalta. It pledged a new Commercialisation Act, which in the long run was expected to generate a positive ripple effect on sports. Legal notice 160 of 2017, approved in Parliament, has provided the required legislative powers through the Sports Act. This sets out the criteria under which sports organisations may be granted the right to carry out a commercial activity within a government-owned sporting facility.
At the recent inauguration of the new Trophies Lounge of the Malta Football Association, the Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, explained that this legal notice would enable all associations and clubs to generate their own income through the property passed to them by the State. The Prime Minister said this was the way forward and said all associations and clubs needed a vision to grow and use this “generated income” to continue enlarging their sports operations.
As parliamentary secretary, I firmly believe in this creed. From my first weeks in office, I pushed for the board to be established so that the first applications would be processed as early as this month.
I also happen to be a lawyer by profession who has been involved in sport for several years and strongly believe that this law will help all the stakeholders involved earn dividends and develop their real potential.
The private sector will have more opportunities to invest in sports facilities. This will boost the economy and deliver more jobs in sport. It fits perfectly with the Agenda 2020 policy.
These are exciting times for the sports sector. The associations and federations given government land have the incentive to upgrade their facilities. This, in turn, will help them generate more money which can then be reinvested into their clubs and associations.
Looking at the bigger picture, this process will ensure more funds for SportMalta, which in turn can reinvest them directly into Maltese sport.
The private sector will have more opportunities to invest in sports facilities
Although clubs can make their land available to third party investment, it is with the proviso that they keep sport as their main function. The law should serve the financial benefit of sport and not the other way around.
Very soon, associations and clubs will be informed that they can start their application process with the Commercialisation Commission. The applications will have to include a detailed business plan and an aesthetic plan describing how the project will look and the benefits that the landlord will reap from this project.
The commission will then evaluate whether the submitted plan is achievable and reaches the proposed objectives. There will obviously be a due diligence process on both the project and its investors before approval, with good governance as a top priority.
The commission is composed of members with vast experience in managing local clubs and associations. The main aim of the commission is to see that the main beneficiary will be sport and not the investor. This will be without any discrimination, local or foreign, big or small.
Those persons with a good record of sport conscience will attentively evaluate the applications, and approvals will be granted when there is a clear opportunity for sport to grow.
Obviously, all information passed to the commission will follow strict confidentiality at all times. Its members have all worked within clubs and associations in different roles and thus have first-hand experience of sport administration.
We are giving the tools to our clubs and associations to be able to grow and create their own future. Sport in Malta will be empowered and shall have a say shaping their own success. The period ahead is exciting and promising for Malta and its sport enthusiasts.
Clifton Grima is Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Youth and Voluntary Organisations.