Stripes gain Betclic boost

Birkirkara have secured a significant financial boost ahead of tomorrow’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash with champions Valletta after extending their sponsorship deal with Betclic for another season.

Joe Zammit, the Birkirkara president, said yesterday that the agreement with the international betting company was a huge tonic for his club in their bid to remain among the top teams in Maltese football.

“We are proud to have renewed our partnership with Betclic for a second successive season,” Zammit told a news conference at the Betclic offices in Sliema.

“For a club like Birkirkara, it’s not easy to assemble a competitive squad year after year without the financial support of private companies like Betclic.

“This agreement forms part of our long-term goal to keep our team at the forefront of the local game.

“I hope that our association with Betclic continues for many years to come.”

Michael Mifsud, Betclic representative, augured that his company’s backing of Birkirkara FC will help to counter the talk about the negative impact betting might be having on Maltese football.

“Unfortunately, there has been a lot of speculation about match-fixing in local football lately,” Mifsud said.

“We at Betclic are committed to carrying out our business duties with great integrity and we condemn in no small measure any form of corruption that is damaging the image of the Beautiful Game here.

“I hope that this sponsorship agreement shows that the involvement in Maltese football of betting companies like ours is only aimed at boosting the local game.”

With Birkirkara’s fixture against Valletta only 48 hours away, tomorrow’s clash was inevitably brought up for discussion during yesterday’s news conference.

Paul Zammit, the Birkirkara coach, said his team are preparing for their meeting with the champions as they do for the other games.

“We are approaching this match with the same attitude and commitment we showed in the previous six league matches,” the Birkirkara coach said.

“We’re still at a very early stage of the league championship and these matches are an opportu-nity to gauge the team’s potential vis-a-vis our rivals. I’m very pleased with the efforts of my players but I’m aware that Valletta will be, without doubt, our toughest assignment so far.”

Zammit almost has a full squad available with the exception of midfielder Ryan Scicluna who is recovering from minor foot surgery.

“Every match presents our team with a different challenge and the game against Valletta will put in front of us the strongest outfit in the BOV Premier League,” Zammit said.

“Looking at Valletta’s squad, you must admit that they have several top-class players and, more importantly, a very long bench that gives their coach more options during matches.

“We are aware that we need to raise our bar in terms of performance if we are to leave the stadium with a positive result.

“Our players thrive on these challenges and I’m sure that we will be ready to give Valletta a stern challenge.”