Moussa Sowe leaves Spartans after failed work permit application

Gambia winger joins Italian Serie D side Afragolese

Ħamrun Spartans were forced to rescind the contract of striker Moussa Sowe after the Gambian failed in his bid to receive a work permit from the Maltese authorities.

Sowe arrived in Malta this summer to complete his move to Ħamrun Spartans. He played a role in the Spartans’ impressive run in the UEFA Conference League which saw the team knock out Armenian side Alashkert, Velez Mostar, of Bosnia, Levski Sofia, of Bulgaria before being eliminated by Serbian giants FK Partizan.

The Spartans said that when the player arrived in Malta he signed all necessary documents, including the registration papers to be filed at the MFA.

The club applied a working permit for Sowe but unfortunately this application was turned down by the Maltese authorities, forcing the club to rescind their contract with the player.

“Every foreign player, once he arrives in Malta, he is asked to sign his contract and a number of documents, including the Player Registration with the MFA,” Ħamrun Spartans said in a statement.

“Immediately afterwards we apply for a Work Permit, in case he does not hold an EU nationality.

“The registration of every player with the MFA is accepted once it is accompanied by evidence that the process of a work permit has starte. The registration of the player is valid once the work permit is issued. In the same way, the registration of a player with the MFA becomes null should the work permit is not issued.

“Without getting into technical details, this is what happened in the case of Mousa Sowe. The work permit of the player was not issued and therefore we didn’t have any alternative other than rescind his contract and hand him the release.”

The Spartans assured their fans that in no way or time the club was not in conformity with the regulations of the MFA or the country.

“As a club, we want to assure that in no way or time we were not in conformity with the regulations of the MFA or the country,” the statement said.

“We were not surprised with what happened but we didn’t want to take risks. We want to assure you that in January we will bring an ideal replacement for Sowe who will help us to continue to win.”

Meanwhile, Sowe has now returned to Italy and has now been unveiled as a new player of Serie D side Afragolese.