International badminton will once again be in the limelight on the local sports scene with the sixth edition of the Friendship Trophy. This is being held at St. Martin’s College, Swatar; the entrance is free.

In its previous five editions, this tournament has seen the participation of club teams from Italy, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Sweden and Germany.

This year, the tournament will feature three separate foreign teams who will be playing against one Maltese squad. The four clubs taking part are Gotland (Sweden)’ Turkish Cyprus, Gibraltar, and Pawla Wolves BC

The tournament will be run in strict accordance with the Rules of the International Badminton Federation.

The four squads will play each other on a league basis over a single round. Each fixture will consist of five separate games: Men’s Singles, Ladies’ Singles, Men’s Doubles, Ladies’ Doubles and Mixed Doubles.

The competition will start this evening with the initial two fixtures. It will continue tomorrow afternoon when the remaining four fixtures of the Team Event will be completed.

On Sunday, all the participating players will take part in separate Men’s Singles and Ladies’ Singles competitions, to be played on a knockout basis.

While inviting the local sporting public to attend and support the Maltese team, the local Badminton Association expressed its gratitude to Emirates Airlines and Island Beverages Co. Ltd for their valuable support in making this event a reality. The Association also thanked St. Martin’s College for their assistance in staging the event.