Retail outlets replacing the present Sliema Wanderers FC pitches in Tigné Point will be operated by the Dizz Group, whose co-owner sits on a body that considers ventures between sports clubs and commercial entities, it has emerged.

A spokesman for the Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Parliamentary Secretariat said the fashion retailer’s co-owner, Karl Izzo, a member of the Commercial Sports Facilities Commission, would not be involved in the project evaluation process.

According to plans unveiled in August, the two indoor football pitches on two levels at the Tigné complex will be converted into offices and retail outlets.

The project is the first of its kind and will see the football club taking advantage of new legislation allowing sports organisations to commercialise venues, a move the government hopes would help them become financially self-sufficient.

The law specifies that the size of the sports facilities could not decrease as a result of a commercialisation project.

Sliema Wanderers FC president Keith Perry told the Times of Malta when the move was first announced that the sports footprint would be doubled if the changes were approved.

The planned project must first be evaluated by the Commercial Sports Facilities Commission, set up last year, whose green light is required before it can be assessed by the Planning Authority.

When the Times of Malta learned the Dizz Group will be running the proposed outlets, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Sport was asked whether Mr Izzo, head coach of the national waterpolo team, had informed the commission about his commercial interest.

The secretariat’s spokesman said he had disclosed his interests “from day one”.

“In light of this, it was decided that Mr Izzo was not and shall not be involved in the process and eventual evaluation of the Sliema Wanderers FC application,” the spokesman added.

Questions on whether Mr Izzo's membership of the commission was still tenable given his involvement with the retail group were not answered.

The fashion group has had a long-standing relationship with Sliema Wanderers FC, who secured a sponsorship deal with the retailer in 2016. At the time, Mr Perry, who sits on Sports Malta’s board of directors, described the agreement with the Dizz Group as a “natural marriage”.

Dizz Group CEO Diane Izzo, Mr Izzo’s wife, said the agreement was the start of a long-term relationship with the football club.

As it happens, Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima is a former committee member of Sliema Wanderers FC and also served as nursery chairman.

Dizz Group plans

According to a bonds issue by D Shopping Malls Finance unveiled at the end of September, a company that forms part of the Dizz Group, the retailer has a lease for 2,681 square metres at the Sliema Wanderers FC complex for 15 years.

“It is the intention of the D Shopping Malls Ltd to lease this commercial space for companies forming part of the Dizz Group as well as third parties,” a notice announcing the bond issue said.

It said a maximum of €2,420,000 will be used for the payment of “upfront rent” to Sliema Wanderers FC and a further €1,587,000 of the proceeds would be utilised to finish the property being taken over.

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