The decisions taken by the Malta Football Association council on Monday were a major talking point among football fans yesterday.

The council, mainly formed of representatives from clubs in the Maltese league, was summoned via a teleconference to decide the verdicts of the

2019-20 season after the governing body’s Executive Committee had ended this season’s league and cup competitions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Monday, the council members voted in favour of awarding the league titles to all those teams topping the respective standings before competition was halted back in March.

They also voted to award promotion to those teams in the top two positions in the lower-tier championships with the exception of Division Two where three teams were promoted as San Ġwann and Marsaxlokk, level on points in second place, joined leaders Marsa in Division One next season.

Added to that relegation from all leagues was scrapped, including Tarxien Rainbows who had mathematically lost their top-flight status before the season was stopped.

The outcome from Monday’s teleconference did not really come as a surprise but what actually baffled most was the sheer inconsistency in the few verdicts reached.

Without entering into the merit of whether league championships should have been assigned or promotion/rele- gation slots assigned, I say council members have a right to decide as per Malta FA statute. However, what is most concerning is the fact that some of the decisions contrasted each other significantly.

When clubs decided to scrap relegation in all divisions, including in the case of Tarxien – the only side already without a chance of survival in March – it looked as though the council members were leaning against verdicts that reflected the results attained on the pitch before the championships were halted.

But then their vote was cast strongly in favour of the table-topping teams when it came to handing league titles and awarding promotion slots.

Such inconsistencies could leave a negative effect on our football clubs in the very near future as we now have a Premier League section that has grown to an unprecedented 16 teams while the First Division will be composed of 15 sides.

For various years local football administrators had been preaching the importance of reducing the number of teams in the top-flight to ten teams or even less to improve the level of competition.

Instead, we now find ourselves with a situation where the elite division has mushroomed to a bigger number of contenders, a situation that will jeopardise the financial stability of most clubs who are likely to struggle to stick to their budget plan for an entire season to stay afloat.

"The MFA top brass needs to reclaim some of the power it had ceded to its clubs and member organisations if major changes are to be effected"

Moreover, it could also mean that Maltese players will be finding it hard to play regularly in the expanded Premier League next season.

It is no secret that among the main reasons clubs had decided to add more overseas players to their ranks in the Premier League was a result of the difficulty they found in signing Maltese players of a certain calibre to avoid the drop at the end of the season.

With the number of teams now going up to 16 that serious issue is likely to become even more acute.

It would come as no surprise in the off-season if the MFA Council would opt to open the foreign players’ transfer market in a hasty solution to the problem, making life much more difficult for the upcoming Maltese players.

Indeed, Monday’s decisions may have dented the credibility of our national sport with some of the major clubs striving over the last few years to try and take the next step towards semi-professionalism.

However, with most decisions requiring the blessing of clubs for approval and not the Executive Committee it is unlikely that anything big happens soon in the local game.

Many contend that the MFA top brass needs to reclaim some of the power it had ceded to its clubs and member organisations if major changes are to be effected.

The MFA ExCo are elected by delegates so once they are handed that onus they must administer the game in the same way politicians elected to power govern this country.

The ExCo is there not only to fulfil its administrative functions but, more importantly, to shoulder the responsibilities that their positions entail, including taking important decisions to improve football in Malta.

That way the ExCo will restore some of the credibility lost following some controversial decisions taken in recent years.