PM pledges continued investment in sports despite global pressures

Investment in sports facilities will continue in earnest despite the current geopolitical situation which is putting pressure on energy prices, the Prime Minister said on Thursday.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new National Tennis Centre in Pembroke, Robert Abela said that given the current geopolitical scenario, “the temptation is to slow down investment and wait and see” but he insisted the government will continue “gas down” to complete sports infrastructure projects “today before tomorrow”.

The tennis centre project was also born at an equally difficult time as it started during the height of the pandemic six years ago.

“While we were advised to wait and see what happens, we decided otherwise, we decided to invest more to be prepared for the future,” Abela said as he reflected on how the tennis centre project began.

He pointed out this project, which involved an investment of almost €3 million, was part of a “strategic decision” to prioritise sports.

“These projects define what type of society we want,” Abela said, adding that sports instill the value of integrity, discipline and sacrifice.

He said such projects of excellence can host international events and the strategy is also already bearing fruit as athletes are achieving greater success abroad.

He also noted that investment is being made in a multitude of sports disciplines, not just a handful of them.

The national tennis centre in Pembroke features six international standard hard courts and can seat up to 540 spectators. The centre is on a site that, until a few years ago, was abandoned and prior to that was used by the British military which meant that access to the area was restricted to the general public.

Sports Minister Clifton Grima said this was a “tangible investment in Maltese sports”.

The Malta Tennis Federation president Mark Gingell Littlejohn said this marked “a new chapter in the history of tennis in Malta”.