Malta women’s waterpolo champions Sirens ASC are set for an historic participation in European club competitions as the St Paul’s Bay’s side will take part in the qualification round of the Euro League in November.
Sirens ASC took the women’s league by storm this season as they managed to win the championship crown for the first time in their history after defeating Sliema 12-7 in the title decider this month.
Now, the St Paul’s Bay outfit are looking to give further experience to their young team when they have registered to take part in the LEN Euro League in November for the first time in their history.
Sirens were drawn in Group B and will be up against some of Europe’s best teams in Ferencvaros Telekom Budapest, of Hungary, Lille UC, of France, hosts SIS Roma, Spain’s Mediterrani Barcelona and ZVL 1886 Tetteroo, of the Netherlands.
The tournament will be played between November 18 and 21.
“This is going to be a great experience for our young group of players,” Sirens ASC official Kris Montfort told the Times of Malta.
“The majority of the players that form part of our squad came through the club academy and we believe that this is going to be a great opportunity for them to continue their development in the game.
“Our team was only formed four years ago under the charge of the current women’s national team coach Anthony Farrugia but since then the club has done all that it was possible to build a competitive squad.
“Our coach Dale Dowling has been with us for the past two years and he has worked relentlessly with the players and he has helped them maximise their potential.
“This season all the sacrifices put in by our players and coaching staff in the past months were rewarded, as we managed to win the league championship and now we are looking forward to continuing to invest in these players by giving them an opportunity to play in Europe.”
Sirens will be the second Maltese team to have participated in the LEN European competition, following in the footsteps of Exiles.
Montfort said that the team has already started its preparations for the tournament which is set to be a huge test of character for the players given the strength of their opponents.
“The team has already started its preparations this week under the charge of coach Dale Dowling and club’s head coach Marko Orlovic,” Montfort said.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult test for the players when you consider the quality of opposition we are facing in Rome. Sirens ASC will be fielding arguably the youngest team in the competition, with the average age of our squad being 17 years.
“The team will undergo an intensive two-month preparation and there could be an opportunity of taking the players for a short training camp abroad but we still have to see if it’s going to be possible.
“But no doubt, we are looking forward to this participation as we are sure that our young players will gain a lot from this experience.”
