[attach id=492487 size="medium"][/attach]

Carmel Baldacchino’s Volume Five of ‘Goal’ – the official encyclopaedia of Maltese football covering seasons 1959-1969 – is out for sale.

The work by Maltese football historian Carmel Baldacchino, spread over 10 volumes, is recognised and sponsored by the Malta FA.

The fifth volume focuses on the 1960s, a golden period in the history of the game of football in Malta.

Eddie Theobald, Willie Vassallo, Freddie Mizzi, Louis Arpa, Ronnie Cocks and Joe Cini were some of the talented players who graced the local game during that period.

There were many important milestones for Maltese football between 1959 and 1969.

The MFA finally fulfilled its aim of organising the game on a national level and, in keeping with the spirit of independence, local football finally shed its dependence on the British Services.

Malta’s early involvement in the international field, including Hibernians’ historic match against Servette in the 1961 European Cup and the association’s affiliation with FIFA in 1967, are among the main highlights of that period.

Improvements were also made to the structure of the league, coaching and the standard of refereeing as the advent of television also left its mark on the local game.

The book, published by Horizons, is available from all leading bookshops.