Governing body monitoring situation ahead of this month UEFA club competitions matches
The Malta Football
Association is setting up a consultative body to address health matters and
protocols in view of the evolving scenarios and challenges created by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The
responsibilities and objectives of this consultative body, which is made up of
experts from different fields, including medical, public safety and football
operations, were discussed by the Malta FA Executive Committee on Wednesday.
The Malta FA is also reaching out to the Government to be part of this forum.
The COVID-19
situation is under constant review in view of this month’s matches from the
UEFA club competitions, which will be played behind closed doors, the national
teams’ commitments, which are due to resume in the first week of September, and
the domestic competitions which are also scheduled to kick off next month.
The Malta FA had drawn up a detailed health and safety protocol for the potential resumption of the 2019-20 domestic competitions behind closed doors. Such medical protocol can be adjusted in accordance with the medical directives and requirements established by the health authorities as well as UEFA’s Return to Play Protocol.
The first-round fixtures of all the national championships organised by the Malta FA will be published later this month together with the health and operational protocols.
To this end, there is an ongoing discussion within the association’s structures on the sustainability of these onerous protocols, especially for the matches in the lower divisions as well as youth football.
“Such medical protocol can be adjusted in accordance with the medical directives and requirements established by the health authorities as well as UEFA’s Return to Play Protocol.”
Given the
fluctuating COVID-19 situation, the Executive Committee has decided that the
clubs’ season tickets will not be issued this season.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
FEASIBILITY STUDY
At the Executive
Committee meeting, the first for season 2020-21, the members were given details
of an ongoing socio-economic study on the commercialisation of clubs’
facilities. The Malta FA has appointed a leading economist to oversee this
feasibility study which involves feedback from six clubs who have presented
project proposals to commercialise their facilities.
The study will
delve into different aspects, including capital expenditure and the economic
benefits, especially in terms of attraction of young players, development of
players and sports tourism.
STADIUM CATEGORISATION
The Malta FA has
also initiated a process to categorise all prospective stadia hosting
competitive matches into three main groups.
The committee
conducting this exercise will establish minimum requirements for these stadia,
based on different criteria. A questionnaire will be sent to all clubs whose
football grounds and stadiums are used for Malta FA matches followed by
technical compliance assessments.
This process
doesn’t apply to UEFA-certified stadia, namely the National Stadium, the Centenary
Stadium and the Gozo Stadium.
GRASSROOTS
RECOGNITION
The Malta FA has
been promoted from bronze to silver level in UEFA’s grassroots classification.
This positive
development has come about thanks to the Association’s on-going projects and
efforts to increase participation at grassroots level as reflected by the
participation data provided by the Malta FA through COMET, the Association’s
football management system.
GRASSROOTS MANAGER
Ivan Woods has been
appointed Grassroots Manager within the Association’s technical sector.
Woods, a former
Malta international player, holds a UEFA A Coaching Licence and is currently
following the UEFA PRO Coaching Course being organised by the Malta FA.
He also has a
Master’s Degree in Performance Coaching from Stirling University.
PLAYMAKERS PROJECT
The Malta FA has
been selected to take part in an innovative programme created by UEFA and
Disney targeting girls aged five to eight currently not playing football.
UEFA and Disney
have teamed up to develop “Playmakers” a ground-breaking football programme
that uses Disney’s world-renowned storytelling to encourage more young girls to
exercise regularly and kickstart a lifelong love of football.
It is envisaged
that the Malta FA will introduce “Playmakers” through schools, clubs and local
communities in March, 2021.
