Sant proposes measures to encourage sport

The Labour Party wants all students to spend five hours a week on physical activity, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday during a visit to the premises of the Malta Football Association in Ta' Qali.

Speaking just before being presented with two personalised Malta team kits by MFA president Joe Mifsud, Dr Sant said his government would work towards having 15 per cent of persons over 16 doing some kind of sport.

Dr Sant had been due to visit the MFA in December but the visit had to be postponed because he had to undergo surgery.

After being taken round the pool, the gymnasium and the MFA offices, Dr Sant said sport was one of the most effective ways to keep healthy in an enjoyable way.

A Labour government would introduce schemes and measures, which would include tax exemptions and reductions, to encourage participation in sport and give a push to organisations involved in different disciplines.

Dr Sant pledged that a Labour government would remove or reduce VAT on entrance tickets to sports events, give private companies tax credits on sports and cultural events and exempt capital projects undertaken by sports organisations from VAT, or reduce it.

Moreover, athletes and sportsmen would be exempt from paying airport tax when travelling to take part in overseas events and the national minimum curriculum would reflect the importance that physical education and sports should have in schools.

Dr Mifsud said the MFA was the biggest sports organisation in Malta and it was giving a service not just directly, through football, but also indirectly through its campaigns, such as the one it conducted against racism.

Malta had the least sports facilities in the EU but the MFA would be launching a project with the Union of European Football Associations, costing about €4.5 million (Lm1.93 million), to help clubs upgrade their facilities. Councils, he said, should also assist in the development of sports facilities.