A year of sport is almost over. In two days we will be heralding the New Year (2008). And as usual, I am hereby jotting down my feelings over the past year of sport and the prospects and what I expect in the one to start soon.

To start with this one, everyone must agree that it was an eventful year in which local sport had its ups and downs.

The main items on the agenda were, without doubt, the Small Nations Games in Monaco, the national football team’s clash with European giants Turkey and the Rugby team’s home matches, especially those played at home.

Of course, every association or federation had its moments during the year. They all staged their national leagues successfully and their national teams also took part in the various international competitions, whether at home or abroad.

Needless to say, I would go for the prestigious 2-2 football draw against Turkey as the main highlight of the year. Never did we imagine our team to go ahead twice against such illustrious and much more experienced opponents, let alone gain a positive result from such an encounter.

But at the end of it all, even if the result itself caused a shock in European football, it was a richly deserved point for Malta. The result and the performance went on to confirm the good work being done by national coach Dusan Fitzel, from the Czech Republic, even if some other results this year were not to our liking, especially the 2-3 home defeat at the hands of Moldova, after having suffered three goals without reply in the first half.

Despite failing to reach the target of avoiding bottom place in the group, Malta still finished the group with five points and that meant a new record for Maltese football.

And speaking about football, I cannot fail to mention the great publicity for Malta abroad from two of its national team players ?Michael Mifsud and Udo Nwoko, not to mention Luke Dimech.

Mifsud is making a name for himself and has already become the biggest asset of English Championship side Coventry City ?I cannot ever forget his great feat of scoring two goals at Old Trafford to eliminate the English champions from the League Cup.

Also, Nwoko is doing well at Leixoes of Portugal. So well, that he has now caught the eye of English Premiership side Reading. In fact, he is expected to join Steve Coppell’s outfit in the next few days to become Malta’s first player to have played for an English Premier League club.

Locally, Marsaxlokk won their first major honour in Maltese football, as they were crowned champions after a very successful campaign under the charge of former Arsenal player and Hibernians?mentor Brian Talbot.

Another football item which hit the headlines this year was the election of president of the Malta Football Association. A packed hall saw Dr Mifsud beating his challenger, Norman Darmanin Demajo, a former MFA treasurer, by just one vote in what must have been the most tense and tightest contest ever for such a position. Yet, it is to Dr Mifsud’s credit that it was a neat vote even if his challenger came so close to upsetting the president’s applecart! It was a clear case of sporting democracy at its best.

The Small Nations Games in Monaco in June/July attracted the attention of almost the whole population. The Maltese Olympic Committee left no stone unturned to get the best out of the athletes representing the country.

Director of Sport Pippo Psaila predicted that Malta would finish more or less on the same levels or perhaps slightly better than the previous Games in Andorra, while the president, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, agreed, though with some reservations. In a few words, they were both confident about another positive performance from the Maltese athletes.

The results showed that Malta had lost its Andorra tempo in some events, especially in swimming and athletics, but there were other positive results such as the bronze medal in the gymnastics field. Considering that it was the first time Malta was taking part in such a competition at these Games, then this must be considered a great success.

The Maltese Olympic Committee also sent a non-Olympic sport team to take part in a tournament in Sicily in November. This squad came back home with a very good haul surprising the Italians in several disciplines, especially fencing, which is one of the Italians?favourite sports.

Last, but definitely not least, the Rugby team. Like the football team, it created a new atmosphere in local sport with its performances in Malta. It registered two wins in Malta. Last May, the team beat Andorra 31-24 and last month, they beat Latvia 16-13 in front of packed houses at the well laid out Hibernians Ground.

Playing in the European Second Division is no joke, but this success must be attributed to that bunch of real hard workers ?at both administrative and playing levels.

Also worth mentioning was the feat of snooker professional Tony Drago earlier this month. It was not in the game of snooker that he excelled. Having missed out on a number of tournaments - eliminated in the very early stages, including the Malta Cup in February ?he was selected to form part of Team Europe in a world pool event, a match against the USA team in Las Vegas for the prestigious Mosconi Cup.

He won all four of his singles matches and a doubles match and was only defeated narrowly in another doubles match as he inspired Team Europe to an 11-8 victory over the Americans.

Also I must not fail to mention the winners of the MOC Sports Awards, especially the gold winners. These were the gold medal winners at the Small Nations Games, Marcon Bezzina, Joanna Camilleri, Sean Borg, Benji Borg and Ella Fleri Soler, the women’s national squash team, tenpin bowler Mark Spiteri and the Elusive crew (skipper Arthur Podesta) which finished fourth overall in the 28th Rolex Middle Sea Race in October. Here it was another good moment for Malta as George David and his crew on board Rambler, established a new course record of 47 hours 55 minutes and three seconds with the race being held in ferocious winds and seas.

The New Year will obviously provide more challenges for Malta and its sportsmen and sportswomen. As in the past year and in previous years, all our associations will again be taking part in the various international competitions.

The major competition this year will be the Olympic Games in Beijing and I am sure that our athletes will be doing their very best to qualify to take part. And in a few days?time, next Sunday in fact, we will also know the dates of Malta’s qualifying group matches for the South Africa football World Cup.

As usual, I will be clamouring for progress to be made in all aspects, not just on the sporting field of play. We have to show more professionalism in our approach. In this sense, the Maltese Olympic Committee, the Malta Football Association and, to a certain extent, the Malta Rugby Football Union, must be the envy of all the other federations.

The way these associations are run is simply an example to all the others, if these are to reach better levels. Finances are certainly the major problem for these associations year in year out and I am sure this will again be their major obstacle the coming year, despite the increase in the sports budget announced by the Government.

I insist on the construction of more facilities and improvements to those already existing. This should be one of our primary objectives in the coming year so as to have more participants indulging in sports activities. Considering the importance given to sport by our rival nations, then we must say that we still lag behind most, if not all of them, in this regard. This problem has to be addressed seriously as well in the next few months in the hope that our sport continues to show the desired improvement.

A big well done to those who were successful during the past year and may we have better results in the forthcoming year, starting on Tuesday.

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