Strengthening Maltese-Australian ties through sport

The Maltese, who in past years migrated to Australia, have spent their time and effort in making their new country a place where the migrants and their descendants can still cling to their traditions.

Such efforts can be seen through the introduction of festas, processions, bands and other social activities which have become an integral part of life among the Maltese-Australian community down under.

The ties are still very strong. Sport, no doubt, is another medium which strengthens these links. Through the efforts of public-spirited gentlemen, the spirit of these connections is being rekindled.

Currently visiting the island is a group of 14 second generation footballers from five clubs playing in Victoria, Australia. They arrived on Friday and will be staying until the third week in January.

Besides being accompanied by a number of relatives, the squad is under the technical guidance of former Floriana and Malta ace midfielder Willie Vassallo, presently coach of Green Gully Ajax of Victoria. Vassallo migrated to Australia in 1977.

At a press conference at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun, the head of delegation Joseph Stafrace, spoke of the importance of keeping the links open between second and third generations of Maltese-Australians and their ancestors' mother country.

Addressing the conference was Harry Zammit Cordina, well-known in the Hamrun Spartans administrative circles and also as being instrumental in promoting the ties between Maltese-Australians and their country of origin.

It is the opinion of the organisers that such visits will reach out to subsequent generation Maltese and make them discover Malta for themselves. It is inevitable that once they taste the warmth and beauty of this former land of their fathers, they will come back for more, while also acting as ambassadors of Malta.

The visit to Malta of a Maltese Victorian selection of soccer youths is a concrete step towards encouraging further links.

In December 2000, there was a group of 33 young Maltese-Australian footballers from Victoria to make the trip to Malta. It was an inaugural venture which had the visitors playing a number of football matches as core events against comparable Maltese teams.

This time there is another programme of activities which started yesterday with a game against a Hamrun Spartans selection and will end on January 15. Apart from a series of matches which the young footballers, aged between 18 and 26, will be engaged in, the programme includes tours around the islands and a number of social activities.

They will also visit the president of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition.