Malta goalkeeper Justin Haber's switch to Sheffield United was in no way linked to the sponsorship deal the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) recently signed with the English club, Josef Formosa Gauci, Chief Executive Officer of the MTA told a news conference yesterday.
"There is no connection between Justin Haber's move to Sheffield United and the sponsorship deal the MTA has with the club," Formosa Gauci said.
Haber joined Sheffield United on a two-year deal earlier this month, only days before the MTA went public about its one-year sponsorship agreement with the English club.
The proximity of the two announcements and the fact that Haber's representative, Carly Barnes, had set the wheels in motion for the sponsorship deal between Sheffield United and the MTA, may have caused a few eyebrows to be raised but the officials of the two entities were adamant this was not the case.
Scott McCabe, a Sheffield United director who was present for yesterday's news conference at the Phoenicia Hotel along with Andy Daykin, the club's commercial manager, and club ambassador and former England player Tony Currie, also dismissed the suggestion that their link-up with MTA might have had a bearing on the club's decision to take Haber on board.
"Justin Haber did a trial with us two years ago and if it weren't for a managerial change, he would probably have signed earlier for us," McCabe said. "We have had Haber on our radar for quite some time and we're delighted that he has settled in well."
The officials of MTA, led by chairman Sam Mifsud, and those of Sheffield United spent most of yesterday's conference call explaining the multitude of benefits of their new "partnership" in terms of boosting the promotion of the Maltese islands in the UK and beyond.
The sponsorship deal, worth £350,000 (€441,000) and described in many quarters as ground-breaking, will see the Blades wearing the visitmalta.com logo on their playing shirts, extensive Malta tourism branding at the club's Bramall Lane Stadium, TV exposure for Malta during Sheffield United matches plus the implementation of other social and sporting initiatives.
James Beattie and Keith Gillespie, two of Sheffield United's most prominent players, also attended yesterday's news conference.
The two had positive words about Haber. "As I've been injured for a while, I haven't had the opportunity to see Justin at first hand but I've heard that he has settled in nicely and he is a lively character in the dressing room," Beattie, who has five England caps, said.
Gillespie, who came through the youth ranks of Manchester United, said Haber's move to Sheffield United should stand him in good stead.
"We haven't really seen much of him so far but I'm looking forward to seeing Justin make progress during his time at Sheffield United," Gillespie, 33, said.
Haber was unable to take part in yesterday's news conference as his flight from Estonia, where Malta lost 2-1 in a friendly match on Wednesday, landed in early afternoon. The 27-year-old goalkeeper met up with the Sheffield United delegation later in the day.
Sheffield United have high hopes of winning promotion to the Premier League this season with McCabe saying: "With the squad we have, we're highly optimistic about our promotion chances".
Sheffield United bounced back from their opening day 1-0 defeat to Birmingham City with a 3-0 home win over QPR last Saturday.
Beattie and Gillespie are two of many seasoned players in the Championship with Premier League experience under their belt.
"The level of football is different," Beattie replied when asked to compare the standards of the two leagues, i.e. Premiership and the Championship (division one).
"The Premier League is the best in the world and we at Sheffield United are hoping that next year we will be there. The standard of the Championship is getting higher every year as more and more high-quality players are playing in this league. The gap (with the Premier League) is getting smaller."
Invited to offer his view on the idea of a unified British football team at the 2012 London Games, Gillespie, a Northern Ireland international, said: "Personally I would not want it."
For his part, Beattie said he was not informed sufficiently about the matter to give an opinion.