The local Badminton Association will this week be taking part in the meeting of the Confederation of Mediterranean Badminton (Co.Me.Ba) being held in Rome tomorrow, 15th December. The Malta Badminton Association will be represented by its General Secretary, Mr John Attard during this important meeting.

As its designation implies, Co.Me.Ba groups together most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean.

It was set up primarily to foster Badminton within the Mediterranean region while promoting the diverse interests of its member countries on the international Badminton scene.

Co.Me.Ba is regularly affiliated to the International Badminton Federation as well as to the European Badminton Union.

Fourteen countries will attend this meeting. In addition to Italy (who is hosting the event) and Malta, the meeting will see the participation of delegates from other Mediterranean countries like Algeria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Lebanon, Macedonia, Morocco, Spain, Syria and Turkey.

Several important issues are on the meeting’s agenda. These include the updating of the statute so as to better meet Co.Me.Ba’s future operational requirements.

Another important issue being discussed during the meeting is the introduction of Badminton in the 2008 Mediterranean Games (being held in Pescara, Italy) as well as the organisation of an international team and individual tournament among Co.Me.Ba member countries, to be designated as the “Mediterranean Cup”.

All participating delegates will also be submitting their individual proposals for discussion during the meeting.

A spokesman for the local Badminton Association confirmed its considerable interest in Co.Me.Ba.

He stated that the Association was convinced that its active and continued participation in this forum would provide Maltese Badminton with further opportunities for its future development.