Sport, study and the choices we must make

For some, sport is recreation. For others, it is status, ambition and business. In some countries, it remains relatively low-key apart from major events such as the World Cup. In others, it has grown into a vast commercial machine driven by television rights, sponsorship deals, packed stadiums and universities that look increasingly like sporting empires.

Malta does not operate on that scale. But it would be a mistake to think the lessons do not apply here. The pressures may be smaller, yet, the questions are much the same: What happens when sport becomes more visible, more commercial and more powerful?

American college sport is undergoing a profound upheaval as the old amateur model gives way to one in which universities can pay athletes directly. US President Donald Trump has strongly opposed this shift, arguing that college sport should not become professional sport under another name. The risk is that, as financial considerations take centre stage, access may become more restricted, leaving many young people who wish to participate in sport with fewer opportunities rather than more. 

Thankfully, Malta presents a very different picture. Rather than allowing sport to drift into a purely commercial logic, policy here has increasingly sought to protect the student as well as the athlete. The guiding principle has been a simple but important one: that sporting excellence should be nurtured alongside educational development, not at its expense.

This reflects a broader European idea often referred to as the dual career approach. In simple terms, it means that athletes should be able to pursue sport while also continuing their education or preparing for working life.

This direction is clearly reflected in Malta’s National Education Strategy 2024–2030, which proposes a Talented Athlete Scheme as well as an expansion of sports scholarships. It is also evident in the language used by Education Minister Clifton Grima, who has spoken of the need to keep improving and expanding the scholarship system so that more students can pursue their studies while continuing to develop in sport.

Athletes should be able to pursue sport while continuing their education- Damian Spiteri

SportMalta, meanwhile, continues to support athletes representing Malta internationally, while newer initiatives, such as Achieve 360, point towards a more structured dual-pathway model for younger athletes. Taken together, these developments point to an important principle: educational opportunity and sporting ambition should strengthen one another, not compete.

The University of Malta’s Student-Athlete Support Programme offers one practical example of how this principle can work in practice.

It was created to help athletes balance study and sport, particularly when lectures, examinations and international competitions collide. Through mentors and other support structures, it assists student-athletes in managing pressures that might otherwise force them to choose between the two.

MCAST supports the same wider objective in a different way, by offering sport-related academic and vocational pathways that enable students to pursue qualifications in sport, coaching, exercise and health while continuing to develop in the field.

If the American system is a warning about the risks of commercialisation, Malta has tried to chart a more balanced course. The emphasis here has been not on monetising athletes but on supporting them as students and as young people with long-term futures beyond sport. That is why policy has increasingly focused on participation, educational opportunity and dual-career development.

The aim has been to widen access, strengthen school-based competition and create scholarship pathways that allow talented athletes to progress without sacrificing their education.

Damian Spiteri is a lecturer in Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Malta.