The Bank of Valletta has agreed to be the official sponsor of the Malta Football Association’s National League, which presently consists of four four divisions, as well as the MFA Super Cup competition.

This agreement was formalised yesterday during an official signing ceremony at Bank of Valletta’s Head Office in Sliema. The agreement was signed by Tonio Depasquale, Chief Executive Officer and Igino Xuereb, Chief Officer Operations, on behalf of Bank of Valletta and Dr Joe Mifsud, President and Alex Manfre, Treasurer, on behalf of the Malta Football Association.

Addressing the media, MFA President Dr Joe Mifsud expressed the MFA’s satisfaction at the positive conclusion of this agreement that will see the largest Maltese Bank supporting Malta’s prime sporting event. “We are extremely satisfied that Bank of Valletta is associating itself with Maltese Football and we are confident that this new collaboration will be beneficial to both parties. Bank of Valletta’s continuous efforts to add value in its sector are in line with the Malta Football Association’s efforts to keep raising the level of Maltese football. We are proud to have such a prestigious name supporting us throughout the coming three football seasons and we are sure that having BOV as the official sponsor will contribute towards the success of the National League.”

Dr Mifsud announced. “As a result of this agreement the MFA national league will now be officially known as the “BOV National League” Furthermore, each division of the National League will be officially referred to as the BOV Premier League, the BOV First Division League, the BOV Second Division League and the BOV Third Division League respectively.

“Concurrently, the Super Cup competition will be officially known as BOV Super Cup.

Later he described the agreement reached with Bank of Valletta as the biggest ever sponsorship for Maltese football. “We had a selection choice. But we preferred the national leagues over the national team, because the clubs take part regularly in the four competitions and they form the backbone of the association,” he said. While saying that the FA Trophy competition was not part of the sponsorship deal, he also said the national team needed to have its own sponsorship, and he hoped the MFA would be able to have one in in that sector in future,” he added.

The MFA will also be organising a Premier League Player of the Month competition. As a result of this agreement, BOV is being named by the MFA as its main Official Partner,” said Dr Mifsud.

The MFA president also revealed yesterday that a slight increase in attendances was registered last season with around 9,000 more persons paying their way into various venues compared with the previous season. Overall, there were 87,000 Premier League paying patrons this season, while in all divisions, the global figure reached 112,000.

He also said the agreement with the Bank of Valletta will start immediately with the forthcoming Super Cup match between Sliema and Birkirkara, scheduled to be played on 1 August.

Addressing the press, Mr Depasquale expressed his satisfaction at the successful conclusion of this agreement with the Malta Football Association “We are pleased that Bank of Valletta will now be associated with Malta’s most popular and followed sport. Our aim is to support the success of Maltese football. We acknowledge that football is widely followed and that there is a lot of talent in Malta that deserves support and encouragement.”

Mr. Depasquale said that this sponsorship also supports the BOV brand. “We are committed to support our customers to be successful. Similarly, through this sponsorship, we are providing our support and contributing towards the success of the most popular sport in Malta”, he said.

The BOV CEO announced: “Bank of Valletta has also developed a branded National League logo and a logo for each Division of the National League and the Super Cup competition. This branding exercise is intended to enhance the uniformity within the different levels of the national football league as well as to reinforce the various Leagues’ association with Bank of Valletta as the new official sponsor for the forthcoming three seasons.”