The “neglected” and “dangerous” stands at one of the Corradino football grounds will be closed off for all Malta Football Association matches until the area is upgraded.
The stands are so neglected that spectators often choose to avoid them altogether, opting to sit on the dressing room roof instead.
Corradino Ground C regularly hosted Malta Amateur Football Association matches last season as well as several youth football events, including a weekly football festival for 13-year-olds.
Pictures sent by a Times of Malta reader show spectators have no choice but to rough it up or stand if they want to watch the matches.
Images show partially destroyed stands while a partly broken fence dividing spectators from players is only held upright with tape, as rocks of every size and dry grass litter the area.
Last October, the police had to intervene after two parents watching a children’s football match got into an altercation at the ground and hurled stones at each other.
A reader said it was disgraceful the matches were still being hosted at the grounds, which lie relatively close to the site of a building collapse which killed 20-year-old Jean Paul Sofia last December.
'Local football authorities still organising leagues'
“Although fully aware of the state of neglect and the dangers at the site, the local football authorities have been organising the Inħobb il-Futbol Foundation competitive leagues without much bother to the safety of participating young players, coaches and team officials,” he said.
Inħobb il-Futbol is the MFA foundation responsible for youth development.
Throughout the 2022/23 season, under-13-year-olds participated in weekly football festivals at the ground.
And, in July, children from different regions took part in an event that included small-sided games.
Corradino Ground C is one of the hosting grounds of the three leagues of the Malta Amateur Football Association. MAFA forms part of the Malta Football Association.
'Precarious health and safety conditions'
Senglea Athletic FC, which uses the ground as a training facility and is responsible for Corradino Ground C, refused to comment.
In a statement, the MFA confirmed the pitch is leased to the association for matches from junior, youth and amateur matches.
“Being one of the few available full-size football pitches on the island and despite the precarious health and safety conditions on the outside of the facility, the association schedules matches on a regular basis,” an MFA spokesperson said.
“Going forward, and for the new season, the Malta FA will inform the member clubs concerned that while hosting its competitions and until the spectators’ areas are upgraded to a safer environment, the area should be closed to the public,” she said.
The spokesperson said the MFA and other stakeholders have invested heavily in sports infrastructure in the past 10 years.
“It is, however, evident that a few more facilities need important upgrades in their ancillary facilities to be able to cater for the needs of not only their athletes and staff but also that of the parents and fans.”
The Tony Bezzina Stadium, which hosts premier league matches, and the Corradino Sports Pavilion, where futsal matches are played, are both a stone’s throw away from Corradino Ground C.