The Malta Football Association is set to make a final decision on whether the BOV Premier League and the FA Trophy will be completed during an Executive Committee meeting that will be held on May 18.
Bjorn Vassallo, the MFA president, broke the news during a video conference with representatives of the Premier League clubs on Thursday.
During the last few days, there has been a lot of discussion on whether the BOV Premier League should resume next month or not but so far both the Malta FA and the health authorities have remained non-committal on whether there will be the conditions to complete the last two competitions of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the Executive Committee meeting, the MFA will meet with the health authorities .
Unless the health authorities give a clear direction that football can resume, the Premier League will be ended with six matches left, the MFA said.
The Malta Football Association has until May 25 to inform European governing body UEFA on whether the 2019-20 season will be completed or not.
Sources said that during the meeting, the MFA president told the representatives that the local governing body of football had presented a medical protocol to the health authorities to ensure everything is in place should football will be given the green light to resume.
Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, the Malta Football Players Association said that the players’ well-being must remain the priority should the BOV Premier League be given the green light to resume next month, the players’ union said in a statement.
In a statement, the MFPA said that while the players would love nothing more than to be able to return to the game, the health of the players and the technical staff remained the priority.
“Our love for the game cannot cloud our judgement. Our opinion and wishes do not matter. The only opinion that should guide us is that of health authorities,” the MFPA said in statement.
“At present, authorities still deem the risk of contamination great enough to impose closure of sports facilities and suspend all sporting activities.
“However, should health authorities give their go-ahead for the resumption of football activities, there are a number of health protocols that have been developed after consultation with foremost international health professionals.”
The MFPA said should players are given permission to train before a vaccine is available a series of precautions must be implemented.
“All players and essential staff must be tested, with ongoing monitoring for possible latent symptoms,” the statement said.
“Players must have full medical coverage and access to medical staff throughout while premises must be equipped with hygiene supplies.”
The MFPA said that before competitive matches could restart, players must be given a period where they can rebuild their stamina.
“This should be at least three weeks. Training intensity should be increased gradually,” the MFPA said.
“Besides, pushing the season into the summer months will bring with it other health considerations such as physiological health problems, especially considering the brutal summers we face in Malta.
“The MFPA’s position is simple. The protection of players is the priority. We trust in the guidance of our health professionals.”