The Malta Football Association (MFA) should consider reducing the period that children are contractually tied to their football clubs, sports minister Clifton Grima said on Thursday. 

"Every (sports) association has its regulations. Some contract athletes for less time, and others tie down athletes for more. In my opinion, the longer the contract period is, the more counterproductive it is for athletes," Grima said. 

But some form of commitment to a club should remain, he added.

"At present, children older than 12 are contracted for three seasons; maybe we can discuss that it goes down to two seasons," he said.

Grima was reacting to a statement by The Malta Football Players Association (MFPA), which said that children were being "exploited" and "treated as financial commodities" by football clubs. 

The concern of the football player's lobby is over MFA rules on player transfers. 

12-year players must commit to a club for an "obligatory period of service" of three years. Once that period lapses, they must recommit themselves till after they turn 18 if they want to continue playing. 

It is up to clubs whether they release players during that time. This leads to clubs "exploiting" children for economic gain, MFPA said. 

In one incident, for example, the parents of a 16-year-old were asked to pay €5,000 for their son to be able to move to another club even if his playing time was limited, MFPA said. 

Grima said it was "unjust" that parents had to pay thousands of euros for their children to be released from their contract, especially when the child was not playing. 

But clubs should also respect each other and not "poach" players from other teams. 

Still, Grima added, clubs needed stability. That meant that players needed to have a commitment to clubs. 

Even children under 12 are under a contract with their nurseries every year. 

Grima appealed to club administrators to release players from their contracts if they wanted to leave and did not get playing time. 

'Players used to be tied down for life.'

Grima said that contracts used to tie players down to their clubs for life. 

"The situation has evolved since then," Grima said. 

Players then were contracted till the age of 21, and following a public consultation by the MFA, the present system was put in place. 

The MFA made the same point in reply to questions by Times of Malta. 

"Significant steps have been made since the days when the registration of a young footballer at 12 years old would keep him tied to the same club until he turned 21 unless the club was willing to release him," a spokesperson for the association said.

The association said it acknowledged that there was room for improvement but added that any changes to the system needed to happen following discussion with all stakeholders. 

"Proposals how the regulatory framework could be improved are currently being discussed," it said.  

The spokesperson said, "Cases where young players are not allowed to move between clubs within their obligatory period of registration are not necessarily reflective of the entire system". 

"Sport is a specific context where the individual and collective rights at play are to be balanced with a view of maintaining high participation levels while safeguarding development and investment therein," the spokesperson said.