Gżira United has 'no legal title' over Manoel Island land, former mayor says

Former Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché has argued that Gżira United Football Club has "no legal title" over the Manoel Island land occupied by the controversial padel courts because the club's rights were extinguished when the government granted the concession to MIDI in 2000.

In a Facebook post, the former Labour councillor and now PN MP explained the timeline of the agreement, saying the club “does not own any part of Manoel Island”. 

“While I understand the club's concerns, the legal reality is that Gżira United Football Club currently has no legal title over the land. Unless and until the government formally transfers land or grants the club a new legal title, the club does not own any part of Manoel Island,” Borg Manché said.

He added that the club’s rights under the 1976 agreement with the government “had already ceased and were extinguished” when the concession was granted to MIDI with vacant possession in 2000.

On Thursday, the Planning Authority sanctioned 20 padel courts illegally built on the football ground on Manoel Island and granted permission for another 10 to be built. It also imposed a €25,000 fine for the illegal works.

Borg Manché explained that when the government, in agreement with the Opposition, had granted MIDI a 99-year emphyteutic concession to develop Manoel Island and Tigné Point, the foreshore was “explicitly excluded” from the transfer.

“The contract clearly states that the foreshore (extending five metres inland from the water's edge), as well as any land created through reclamation or infill, remained public property and was never transferred to MIDI,” he said.

Another key point is that the 2000 contract “expressly states” that the property was being transferred to MIDI with vacant possession, free of all encumbrances and rights. This means that the football club’s 1976 arrangement, which granted use of the land as sports facilities, was extinguished by the concession itself.

The club was required to vacate the football ground site no later than three months after MIDI completed new football and bowls pitches which were promised in the agreement. The contract also required MIDI to join the government in any eviction proceedings if necessary.

However, the football pitch, bowls pitch and clubhouse which MIDI was obliged to build on Manoel Island as part of the 2000 agreement never materialised.

Borg Manché pointed out that the contract clearly stated that “once completed, these sporting facilities were to be transferred back to the government, not the football club”.

“It would then have been up to the government to decide whether or not to transfer them to the club and under what terms,” Borg Manché said.

As the facilities were never built, they were never transferred over.

Gżira United argued that the padel courts were critical for its survival after facing mounting financial pressures following the loss of the €10,000 monthly income it used to receive from MIDI. This subsidy stopped after the government terminated the agreement with the consortium.

Borg Manché  pointed out the subsidy arrangement was a “private payment” that did not arise from any obligation in the 2000 contract. It was made by Midi to the club “under a separate agreement between the two parties” because the club never received the promised sporting facilities and was due to be relocated to the upper part of Manoel Island as part of MIDI’s masterplan.

“When the government announced that it was terminating the agreement with MIDI, those payments automatically ceased because they depended entirely on MIDI, not on the government,” Borg Manche said.

The club argued it reverted to its original 1976 agreement with the government but Borg Manché explained “those rights had already ceased and were extinguished when the concession was granted to MIDI with vacant possession in 2000.”

The sanctioning of the padel courts sparked widespread condemnation with Moviment Graffitti organising a protest outside the courts on July 24 at 6pm urging people to take a stand against “this obscenity”.

The Nationalist Party accused the prime minister of breaking his pledge to return Manoel Island to the public and Din l-Art Helwa said it intends to appeal the Planning Authority’s decision.