Pace Bonello reconfirmed as Maltese Olympic Committee president

MFA general secretary Maria Azzopardi misses out on MOC Director spot

Julian Pace Bonello has won a fourth term as president of the Maltese Olympic Committee after he was elected unopposed during the local governing body of elite sports elections which were held on Wednesday.

Pace Bonello was one of three top MOC officials that were reconfirmed in their post unopposed on Wednesday and Deputy President Paul Sultana, general secretary Kevin Azzopardi and Director of Sport Charlene Attard were also approved by the General Assembly at St Aloysius College.

All of these officials needed 50 votes plus one from the General Assembly in a secret vote to be reconfirmed in their post and all of them achieved it convincingly.

The new MOC committee will have one new face for the next four years as Jo’ Anne Cassar has been approved as the new treasurer.

Pace Bonello has been at the helm of the Maltese Olympic Committee since 2013 when he had replaced the late Lino Farrugia Sacco who had not sought re-election.

During the past 12 years, Pace Bonello has kept his post unopposed with the exception of 2021 when he had beaten Kirill Micallef Stafrace in an election.

Jo’Anne Cassar has been confirmed as the new MOC Treasurer and enters the top body’s administration after serving as general secretary within the Malta Badminton Association.

Cassar will replace David Azzopardi who has been serving as MOC Treasurer for the past few years but did not seek to extend his stay in this position.

However, David Azzopardi will remain serving as an MOC Director after winning one of the four spots available in an election that involved five candidates for the four spots available.

On the other hand, Maria Azzopardi, who last December was appointed as MFA General Secretary, was unsuccessful in her bid to take the post of MOC Director after she collected only 23 votes.

Maria Vella Galea and Johanna Grech picked up the highest number of votes when amassing 72 from 82 votes while David Azzopardi received 70 votes.

Lucienne Attard also retained her place when totalling 63 votes.