The Centenary Stadium was buzzing with activity yesterday morning as around 150 girls, sporting bright pink tops provided by FIFA, responded to the Malta FA’s call to take part in a Christmas football festival.
In keeping with the association’s on-going drive to increase the popularity of women’s football, yesterday’s fun-filled event was named Get A Friend Festival.
Aimed at encouraging more girls to take up the game, the festival attracted over 40 newcomers, much to the satisfaction of the organisers, headed by Maria Mifsud, and national coach Pierre Brincat.
The enthusiasm of the girls coupled with the dedication of the coaches, national team players and other volunteers, delighted Bjorn Vassallo, the MFA CEO, and Robert Gatt, the association’s technical director, who were present for the festival.
“It’s always pleasing when you see something that continues to evolve,” Vassallo told a news conference.
“And women’s football in Malta is constantly evolving. I associate women’s football with purity and walking on to the pitch, you are immediately struck by the enthusiasm of these girls.
“Until a few years ago, football was a male-dominated sport but thanks to the work of our technical centre, who organised the first girls festival a few years ago, the popularity of women’s football has increased significantly in our country.
“This work has continued unabated to the point that we have also created an academy and we’re doing all we can to prepare all the girls who train at Ta’ Qali for a career in football.
“We have also invested in a goalkeepers’ coach for the women’s teams, engaging the services of Roger Camilleri who also worked with our senior men’s team in the past.
“All this underlines the commitment of the association towards women’s football. We are now past that stage when women’s football was only played for fun as everyone is striving to raise the standards.”
Vassallo said the improved results of the senior women’s national team, especially in matches against fellow small nations, are testament to the progress achieved.
The MFA are now pursuing continuity and the decision to enter a team in the UEFA U-19 competitions for the first time ever, is intended to aid this process.
“FIFA president Sepp Blatter recently said that women’s football represents the future of the game,” Vassallo said.
“Women’s football is still played in a healthy and clean environment. We have invested to improve our infrastructure in recent years so that the girls also benefit from adequate facilities.
“Our new target is to merge our grassroots efforts with the experience we have gained at senior level to create a universal package for the further improvement of women’s football.”
For his part, Gatt praised the dedication of all those involved in women’s football.
“One of our key objectives is to attract more young girls to play football,” Gatt said.
“What impresses me most about women’s football is the dedication of the players and coaches.
“I’ve always admired the commitment of these girls who report for training late in the evening, even in the cold months. Their dedication gives me the motivation to work harder to help the sport grow.”
Gatt said that, since last season, the MFA have been covering the costs of the grounds and match officials for women’s competitions in a bid to encourage more clubs to participate.
In addition to the upcoming international commitments of the senior team, who will face Albania, Luxembourg and Latvia in the World Cup qualifiers in April, and the U-19 side, Malta’s U-16 squad will play in a UEFA tournament in March.
Also present for yesterday’s news conference were national squad members Kathleen Saliba, Dionne Tonna and Jade Flask. They expressed their satisfaction at the growing popularity of women’s football, especially among young girls, and the improved facilities.