The Under 21 football team, under the charge of coaches Silvio Vella and Edwin Camilleri, left Malta yesterday for Almeria, Spain, where they will be taking part in the Mediterranean Games tournament.

In football, Malta is in qualifying Group C alongside Tunisia, Greece and Algeria.

The Mediterranean Games get under way on Friday with the Opening Ceremony, but in actual fact, the Malta football side will be playing its first qualifying match tomorrow when they will be facing Greece at 7pm at the Vicar Stadium.

They will again be in action on Saturday when they play their second match – against Algeria – at 10pm, also at Vicar Stadium. The third and final qualifier is to be played on Monday at 7.30pm, against Tunisia.

If Malta qualifies for the quarter-finals (the first three in the group qualify), then it will be in action again on Wednesday 29 June. The semi-finals are scheduled for 1 July and the finals for 3 July.

The players who have made the trip are Andre Agius, Edmund Agius, Matthew Bartolo, Steven Bezzina, David Camenzuli, Dyson Falzon, Clayton Failla, Paul Fenech, Kenneth Spiteri, Andrew Hogg, Alex Muscat, Bernard Paris, Jonathan Pearson, Joe Sammut Vasquez, Ryan Fenech, Mark Gauci, Andrew Scerri.