Bjorn Vassallo was elected new president of the Malta Football Association during yesterday's election. He obtained 83 votes to Dr Chris Bonett's 54.

Bjorn Vassallo had started his career at San Gwann FC at a young age, but he then became a club delegate in the MFA Council, before he was elected secretary general and later CEO of the Association.

In the past three years, he has been at FIFA, working in President Gianni Infantino's office, as the Director of the world football body for Europe.

Vassallo replaces Norman Darmanin Demajo, who held the post for nine years.

 

What he wants and his priorities

 

§ President to be given 4-year mandate, but not more than 3 terms

§ One of his priorities: Improvement in the sporting (national teams) and administrative (including technical) element

§ Everyone - MFA, clubs and all stakeholders - to work together

§ A restructured national stadium at Ta' Qali to be built in several phases keeping only the Millennium Stand

§ Two regional hubs including a stadium in the South of Malta and a secondary stadium at Sannat in Gozo

§ Assisting clubs to replace artificial turf introduced between 2007 2012

§ A Malta team including some foreigners to play in an Italian lower division, in an effort to have an increase in the number of players with enough quality to be selected to join the national squad 

 

Addressing the media soon after his election, Vassallo said he was happy and honoured to have been given a strong vote to run the MFA.

He thanked Dr Chris Bonett who was the other contestant and said they had ran a good and valid campaign in the interest of the local game.

Vassallo said it was one of his main priorities to see unity in Maltese football. “I wish to thank all those who voted for me and also those who did not. We all love the game and wish to see it improving, especially by getting better results on the field of play.

“I will now be informing FIFA president Giovanni Infantino that after my election as MFA president, I will be resigning my FIFA post. But I will also start getting a relationship with UEFA as all presidents do,” he added.

He went on to say that after this election, he will be looking forward to work hard with everyone to see a general improvement. “There is much to be done during this new term. I am eager to start working on the terms I proposed which have been accepted by the majority of voters,” he said.

 

MFA ends season with a surplus of euro 646,239

 

§  The MFA has published its annual report and accounts which shows that the association has ended the past season with a surplus of euro 646,239

§  It was presented by treasurer Ivan Mizzi

§  The report showed that the association's property, plant and equipment today have a value iof euro12,227,872

§  The association also boasts of its current assets which have a value of euro5,676,563

 

Income and expenditure

The income amounted to (all amounts in euros) 9,455,199 while the expenditure totalled 7,903,371. After depreciation of 924,938, there was surplus of 626,890.

Overall, the surplus plus the accumulated fund amounted to 646,239.

The income (in detail) included among others:

FIFA euros642,698; UEFA Hat-trick Solidarity 1,565,000; UEFA Referees convention 100,000; UEFA other income 304,268, sponsorships 87,290, other income 99,029 and a consultancy fee of 50,000.

The expenditure includes administration salaries amounting to 1,058,254, referees convention expenses 298,940, meetings and events 121,597. Overall there was an expenditure of 2,068416. The surplus of income over expenditure amounted to 467,979.

 

Sports facilities

The MFA’s income from the Sports facilities showed an excess of expenditure over income of 1,011,769.

The main income amounted to 1,058,254, while the total expenditure reached the total of 1,421,525. The expenditure includes wages (714,000), and 446,858 for the facilities’ maintenance.

 

National teams

Here, the MFA s income showed a massive amount of euros2,653,559 which includes revenue from participation in UEFA competitions (1,106,220) and sponsorships (205,321).

In the expenditure sector, the report shows that the association spent 1,225,423 in travelling and accommodation, 858,046 on the technical sector and 284,477, among others.

The surplus over expenditure was 987,836. 

 

Busy and eventful season for MFA, says secretary Angelo Chetcuti

Dr Angelo Chetcuti, the General Secretary of the Malta FA, summed up the activities of the Association over the past 12 months in his explanation at yesterday’s well-attended 2019 Annual General Meeting.

The Administrative Report, a 76-page publication, was backed by a video highlighting the main projects and acivities carried out by the Association last season.

“Another 12 months have flown by and I still feel the same as every day, you must deal with new situations which help to enhance your knowledge of Maltese football.”

Dr Chetcuti thanked the outgoing president, Norman Darmanin Demajo and all the Malta FA officials and staff in all the Association’s departments for their commitment and efforts.

He said 2018-19 was another busy and eventful season for the Malta FA with the consolidation of existing initiatives and also the launch of new schemes and projects which have had a very positive impact in all sectors of local football.

In his report, he mentioned the huge amount of work involved to run the national competitions as well as the commitments concerning the national teams.

He made a special reference to the victory over the Faroe Islands which, he said, had generated a lot of enthusiasm. “There had been a TV audience of 70,000 sets watching the game,” he said.

He went on to say that this was a season which included a touch of everything, mostly the exciting finish to the Premier League and FA Trophy.

He added that 1,340 competitive matches and almost 100 other international matches had been played. “I thank all those involved who contributed – MFA staff, club committees, officials, fans and sponsors. Special thanks in the name of this football family go to Norman Darmanin Demajo, president for the last nine years. He will be remembered for several initiatives, but mostly for the restructuring of the clubs and their facilities,” he said.

 

Darmanin Demajo thanks all

Yesterday’s meeting started with a short address by outgoing president Norman Darmanin Demajo who thanked all those who worked so hard towards the progress of the game of football in Malta.

The former MFA president said it was a very successful ending for the season. He outlined the very good results obtained by the four clubs representing Malta in the European club competitions with Valletta and Gzira qualifying to the next round, and with Balzan and Hibernians losing by minimal scores. “But the cherry on the plum was Gzira’s sensational 3-1 win over Hajduk Split,” he said.

He also paid tribute to all those members of the Maltese football family who had passed away during the last 12 months. A minute’s silence was observed in their memory.

He also thanked the representative of UEFA and FIFA who attended the meeting and also addressed those present. These were Michele Uva, a vice president of UEFA and Oliver Jung, Manager Development Programmes Europe of FIFA.

Also present for the meeting were Thierry Favre, Chief of National Associations Development of UEFA, and Sofia Malizia, FIFA Member Associations Governance.