More inroads for the Malta Handball Association

Some weeks ago I remarked that handball is becoming increasingly popular among the local sporting community.

The Malta Handball Association (MHA) will be in the limelight next week as it hosts the third edition of the Challenge Trophy for European Small Nations.

This will be the first proper international tournament sanctioned by the European Handball Federation (EHF) to be staged in Malta.

Last year, the MHA organised its first international tournament and this led to Malta being entrusted with the organisation of this year's Challenge Trophy.

Completed in the summer of 2002, the University Sports Complex is one of the latest venues on the island allowing national associations and federations to host an array of international competitions.

Despite being classified as a minor sport, three local handball players are playing on the continent.

This statistic is very significant when compared with the overall number of Maltese football players who are currently earning a living by playing professionally abroad.

Excluding the likes of Simon Vella and any other player who may be eligible to play for Malta due to his parental ancestry, only the household names of Luke Dimech and Andrew Hogg come to mind.

Yet, in handball, Jacques Friggieri is playing in France, Alec Invernizzi is sharpening his skills in Italy and Joseph Tanti is turning out for a Danish club.

Apart from our national team, five other sides will be vying for the coveted EHF Challenge trophy.

As such there is no promotion or relegation at stake as this competition has been introduced to help emerging teams gain more competitive experience.

Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein will be making their debut in this competition, while Ireland, Moldova and Great Britain make up the rest of the field.

The eastern countries have a strong tradition in this discipline and all eyes will be on Moldova and Azerbaijan who are expected to be among the most in-from sides in the championship.

Any flowery comments on the need to boost sports tourism are superfluous.

Just for the record, over 100 athletes and officials will be spending a whole week in Malta during what is generally regarded as the 'low' season.

Sports tourism

It seems that this is becoming a trend in the sporting industry as national associations have realised the potential advantages that come with the package deals offered by leading hotels on the island during the autumn and winter months.

I am not sure whether the National Office of Statistics is keeping track of the number of sports tourists who are visiting Malta every year.

National federations are the primary source for this data and the Sports Council should engage in such studies to monitor the number of athletes, officials and supporters who visit the island.

The data for this year is probably inflated as Malta hosted the Games of the Small States of Europe.

However, data from the previous years should establish the trends for sports tourism in Malta.

As for the EHF Challenge Trophy, the MHA has slotted the match between Malta and Liechtenstein in the morning in a bid to entice schools to take students to the venue.

Schools are often the breeding grounds for students to fall in love with a particular sport.

However, the right environment has to be created and youngsters should be provided with the right opportunities to watch such international events.

The scene is set for an exciting championship even though the European Handball Federation has clearly dictated the format of the competition.

A round-robin format will determine the overall placings.

However, the actual final classification will be determined by the matches between the first- and second-placed teams (final), whereas the third and fourth team will fight it out for the bronze medal.

The other match would be purely academic as the fifth and sixth teams play against each other for the final placings.

This format has some shortcomings and should be replaced by a Pool System.

The six teams should have been placed into two groups of three teams.

The top two teams in each pool would then play in the semi-finals with the winners proceeding to the final.

Perhaps, this format will be introduced from the next edition and I'm pretty confident that officials from the MHA will be providing feedback to the European Federation on the matter.

The local association is now well aware that it has built the right bridges to consolidate the development of handball in the Maltese islands.

The next step is for local clubs to start competing in European competitions.