The Malta Football Association will have a new president today as the elections for a new chief at the local governing body of football will be held at the Annual General Meeting this morning.
Current president Norman Darmanin Demajo will make his last official appearance as MFA chief after he decided not to put his name for re-election after nine years at the helm.
The two candidates who are vying to fill the void left by Darmanin Demajo are Bjorn Vassallo and Chris Bonett who are both bidding to make a return to the Malta FA.
In fact, Vassallo formed part of Darmanin Demajo’s team that replaced previous MFA president Dr Joe Mifsud nine years ago and during his stint at the Malta Football Association he filled several positions including Chief Executive Officer and General Secretary.
Vassallo left the Malta FA in 2016 to take the prestigious post of FIFA Director of Europe at the world governing body of football.
On the other hand, Dr Bonett also formed part of Darmanin Demajo’s administration at the MFA where he filled the positions of MFA vice-president as well as was the head of the MFA Legal Office.
He left he MFA in 2016 to move to European governing body UEFA where he filled the position of Integrity Officer.
During the last six months, both Vassallo and Bonett have been meeting with delegates from all the 53 member clubs who will be eligible to vote today where they presented to them their manifesto which mirrored their vision for Maltese football for the next decade.
Vassallo’s programme, entitled ‘Forward Together’, is an eight-year plan aimed at taking Maltese football to a higher level, basing his campaign on a good administration and a solid sporting structure.
In his presentation of his manifesto, Vassallo had said that he was aware of the challenge awaiting him to succeed Darmanin Demajo as MFA president but feels that his experience and expertise at FIFA has enabled him to present himself with the right baggage.
“My spell at FIFA has helped me to come for this election with a bag full of experience and a lot of contacts that will surely help me to provide a brighter future to Maltese football if I am elected as president,” the FIFA Director of Europe said.
On the other hand, Dr Bonett is basing his vision, if elected as president of the Malta FA, towards putting the clubs at the top of the football agenda again.
He has vowed to bring in the required changes to ensure that Maltese football will be operating on a more solid platform and that both the clubs and the national teams achieve more success in the near future.
Vice-president berths
“The proposals I am submitting have come after consultation with all the stakeholders of the game during the past six months,” Dr Bonett had told reporters during his presentation.
“I believe that the only way for the Maltese football movement to grow is by giving more power to the clubs and help them develop into a more professional structure. And this development has to be done both at an administrative as well as on a commercial level.”
Apart from the elections for president, the Annual General Meeting will also host polls for the three vice-presidents seats.
Current incumbents Dr Matthew Paris, Ludovico Micallef and Alex Manfre are all vying for re-election. However, they face the challenge of Adrian Casha, Dr Cory Greenland and Dr Peter Fenech.
Ivan Mizzi is uncontested for his post of MFA treasurer and is set to be confirmed by the club delegates present for the Annual General Meeting.
There will be three elections for the posts of Ordinary Members of the Executive Committee for 2019-20.
Paul Falzon, Joseph Sammut and Laurence Seychell will vie for the two seats from the First Division.
Dr Greenland, Chris Grech and Raymond Micallef will be eyeing one of the two seats for the Third Division clubs.
Jesmond Abela, Paul Falzon, Chris Grech, Claudio Martinelli, Raymond Micallef, Chris Muscat and Joseph Sammut will be contesting for the two spots for overall member clubs.