The Ta’ Qali indoor pool will permanently close its doors after the Malta Football Association said it was too costly to run. 

The decision to shut it down was taken by the MFA executive committee earlier this week upon the proposal put forward by MFA president Bjorn Vassallo who told the committee the facility was not financially viable for the association to maintain, particularly following the challenges faced during the pandemic. 

Sources told Times of Malta that the long-term plan was to redevelop the national stadium, creating a smaller England-style stadium, commercialising part of the area around it, and making it a place where football fans can have a positive experience. 

The semi-Olympic 25-metre pool was opened some 20 years ago and still run on the technology of the time it was opened. Changing the operating systems would require a hefty investment. 

News about its closure broke when triathlete Fabio Spiteri expressed discontent that 10 years of coaching at the heated pool in Ta' Qali was coming to an end due to permanent closure. 

“It’s a real pity that we subsidise everything in Malta but not sport. Hundreds and hundreds of kids, teens, adults and elderly used this pool. Will be missed!! Sport is never a priority!! (I) am pretty sure MFA has other projects in mind otherwise a solution to keep pool open would have been found. Maybe footballers could have used the pool too for fitness and rehabilitation,” he wrote on Facebook.

Pools and gyms have remained shut due to restrictions imposed by the health authorities to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Even independent candidate Arnold Cassola has expressed his dismay at the pool’s closure.

He added that the government should step in to consider any help possible to ensure that such a facility does not close down.