The Malta handball national team will be taking part in the second IHF Emerging Nations Trophy to be held in Bulgaria between June 12 and 18.

The three best European teams of this championship will qualify for the second phase of the EURO2020 qualifiers.

In the first edition that was held in Kosovo, Malta qualified for the quarter finals after finishing in second place in the group stage following wins over China and Ireland.

Most participating countries are European, while Asia will be represented by China. The tournament will see teams who are emerging in international handball as well as more established nations like Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The 16 participating countries will be divided into four groups of four with top two placed sides progressing to the quarter-finals.

Malta were drawn in Group B and will be up against Great Britain, Luxembourg and Georgia.

The national team have been stepping up its preparations during the last two months under the guidance of coach Joseph Tanti and Joseph Attard, the head of delegation.

The team is aiming to give a good account of themselves and to try and match the result obtained in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, referee Marylyn Agius will also make the trip to Bulgaria as she will be attending the IHF delegates course to be held parallel with the competition.

Agius is the first female candidate for the MHA that could become an IHF delegate in the near future

Malta squad: D. Gauci, L. Harrison, L. Rizzo (all Kavallieri), P. Mifsud, A. DiPilato, K Bugeja, P. Naudi, D. Gargano (all Aloysians), J. Fenech (Swieqi Phoenix), K. Baldacchino, A. Portelli, R. Camilleri Darmanin (La Salle).

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