The Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport (KMS), in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Youth & Employment and the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, has presented over Lm80,000 (€186,349) to 25 national sport organisations and seven local sport organisations. The funds are being made available through the Good Causes Fund which is, in turn, collected through lotteries. This, together with other schemes and assistance, has meant that during 2006, sport organisations have benefited from more than Lm400,000 (€ 931,749).
The assistance has been given to associations and clubs through the Assistance and Incentive Schemes launched by KMS last year. These schemes provide associations with the opportunity to apply for funding for the purchasing of equipment, the improvement or maintenance of facilities, education and training, participation in international events both locally and abroad, and venue assistance.
The KMS receives applications for the various schemes from sport associations and a committee evaluates the application on the criteria of the respective schemes. The KMS is currently evaluating the applications for the current year (2007).
This is one of the various initiatives that KMS has launched in order to assist sport organisations maintain and upgrade their facilities as well as invest in the education and training of their athletes.
The presentation of the funds was carried out by Dr Louis Galea, Minister of Education, Youth and Employment who is also responsible for Sport, and the Parliamentary Secretary within the Finance Ministry, Mr Tonio Fenech.
Minister Galea said that government is truly committed towards supporting sport in Malta and that such funding was a concrete way of helping sport through the various schemes as issued by the KMS. This is not only aimed at upgrading sport but also to improve the infrastructure and standards of the organisations.
Minister Galea said that although such tangible assistance might seem more visible, a large amount of support is given to sport organisations in kind through the use of Government’s sport facilities and other assistance.
Mr Fenech said that Government could provide such assistance first of all because it has over the past years invested millions in the building of new facilities and the improvement of existing facilities and secondly, because it is managing to improve the country’s finances, making them more sustainable through economic growth which, in turn, allows it to plough back funds to sustain important sectors such as sport.
He said that Government will continue to provide the Maltese population with more and better facilities and, in fact, another sport complex will be built in Kirkop while another on a smaller scale is being planned for Luqa. He said that another important development will be the use of public schools’ facilities after school hours.
Sport organisations benefiting from the Good Causes Fund
National organisations
Malta Olympic Committee, Aquatic Sports Association, Association of Arms Collectors & Target Shooters, Association of Maltese Arms Collectors & Shooters, Badminton Association of Malta, Federazzjoni Klabbs Tal-Bocci, Federazzjoni Maltija Lotta, Malta Aikijitsu Takeda Ryu Association (MATA), Malta Amateur Athletics Association, Malta Baseball-Softball Association, Malta Basketball Association, Malta Billiard & Snooker Assocation, Malta Cycling Federation, Malta Football Association, Malta Gymnastics Federation, Malta Handball Association, Malta Netball Association, Malta Pool Association, Malta Shooting Federation, Malta Table Tennis Association, Malta Triathlon Assocation, Malta Volleyball Assocation, Malta Weightlifting Federation, Malta Wheelchair Assocation, The Youth Football Association, Traditional Karate Federation.
Local organisations
Birkirkara Tennis Club, Birzebbugia Sailing Club, Hamrun Spartans FC YN, Klabb Lotta Universita, Malta Young Sailing Club, Melita F.C. Youth Nursery, Vikings Sailing Club.