The contrast is striking. The intimacy and concentration of the dressing room where everyone is finding his way to focus, to keep the tension in check.
You walk out along an ordinary corridor, a few metres in the tunnel, and then a few steps to pitchside where the mood is festive, buoyant, noisy. The smell of the turf, the camera clicks, the excitement on the faces of the kids on the terraces, the enthusiasm of the South End Core supporters.
No amount of selfies or tweets can express the myriad emotions a football match can evoke.
Football carries people away. Despite all the technical preparation, logistical planning and the roll-out of initiatives to attract supporters, the aftertaste rests on episodes that make or break the experience.
In the end, a good result stirs up incredible enthusiasm. The National Team is a major identifier of us as a nation in a telling way. During those 90 minutes, we are all in it together under one flag. Our 11 players are our representatives on the pitch, the rest of us are drumming up support, whether at the stadium, on the couch in front of the television or online.
I was no exception last Saturday and the following Tuesday. Wearing my professional hat, I sought to ensure the smooth organisation of the matches, but underneath was the supporter biting his nails and fidgeting in his seat.
Experiencing the power of the game in such a direct way reinforces my firm belief that investing more in sport pays in so many ways.
We should support each other through thick and thin
Football generates its own money and yet the gap with our counterparts is significant. Despite their size, others receive substantial external support. In countries where sponsors and TV money abound and where resources are certainly not lacking, there are inbuilt models through which resources are allocated to sport in all its manifestations.
The shift towards a sporting culture requires a concerted effort which in the end depends on resource allocation. Comparing the portion of our GDP that is dedicated to sport and what the cost per capita is, should give us a good benchmark. It does not make good reading when measured up to peer countries.
Recently, the Malta Football Association has embarked on a research project to evaluate the social return on investment football provides.
The outcomes show that, when one considers the various spillover benefits, the game generates important returns. These include not only direct economic value in terms of jobs, taxation, and football consumption and services, but also positive social impact, and savings on costs related to reduced risks of ill-health.
Gathering and analysing such data to support evidence-based decision-making is crucial even in other areas of the game. This is what the Association has been doing lately and I have no doubt that it will lead to sustained development. Investment in sport is a way through which our current positive economic setting can be translated into a better quality of life and general social wellbeing. Society has changed, and if we do not support activities that have so far relied on volunteers, people will always choose a part-time job or a side-activity that pays, over half-a-day helping out at the football nursery.
The power of football is to be honed.
We all rejoice when the Malta flag flies high, whichever sporting discipline reaches those heights. But we should support each other through thick and thin.
The emotions we live through each time any National Team achieves good results should spur us to change the way we look at sport and its value to Maltese society. Each and every one of us has a role to play.
Angelo Chetcuti is general secretary of the Malta Football Association.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece