Sliema Wanderers vs Balzan match postponed due to COVID-19

The Malta Football Association has announced that the revised Premier League match between Balzan and Sliema Wanderers, scheduled for this week, has fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic for a second time and has been postponed.

Balzan were due to face Sliema Wanderers on Thursday, in a fixture that was originally scheduled for a fortnight ago but on that occasion the local governing body of football were forced to call off the match due to a cluster of cases in the Wanderers camp.

On this occasion, the Malta FA said that they are forced call off the match once more due to a number of COVID-19 cases in the Balzan FC squad.

“The Malta FA regrets to advise that the BOV Premier League fixture between Sliema Wanderers and Balzan, previously scheduled for the 30th of December (Centenary Stadium) has been postponed,” the local governing body of football said in a statement.

“The postponement is due to confirmed positive COVID cases within the Balzan team.  

“The Malta FA is committed to working with both clubs and key stakeholders to reschedule these matches as soon as possible, and apologises for any inconvenience caused to supporters who were planning to attend this fixture.”

Malta has seen a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases during the past few days as the first cases of the Omicron variant were also discovered by the Health Authorities.

It remains to be seen whether the COVID-19 pandemic will have an effect on the return of football competitions scheduled for January 8.