I read Richard Micallef’s reply (TMID, 7 August) and it is not my intention to enter into a polemic with the youth teams’ manager of Sirens ASC, a leading Maltese waterpolo club, which ironically, is the team I and many Birkirkara FC supporters support.

In his reply to my original contribution (TMID, 24 July), Mr Micallef chose to post a sort of disclaimer at the end of his article, therefore I will reply to him personally, even though, to explain my point, I will use “his club” as my reference point.

First of all, my original article was intended to highlight the serious need of investment in the present infrastructure in all the sporting sectors in Malta. My pleas were to the government and not to the federations or associations themselves. I wrote because I gained experience as part of the administrative team of a local football club.

This was made very clear in my article, yet Mr Micallef chose to mention the MFA president’s perks at both the association and at UEFA, in comparison to those enjoyed by his counterpart at the ASA. UEFA and LEN are two completely different organisations. The fact that the ASA president forms part of LEN is not my or the MFA’s responsibility. If the ASA thinks they should also enjoy perks as those enjoyed by members of UEFA, then, in my opinion, they should request LEN to change their funding policies.

There is no doubt that local football clubs taking part in UEFA competitions receive annual amounts from “solidarity funds” made available to them due to the overwhelming popularity of the competitions – something that is benefiting hundreds of teams throughout Europe. This year, a substantial number of “small clubs” throughout Europe benefited from an increase in funds made available by the European football body.

This was possible due to the fact that UEFA have put in motion many solid mechanisms so that clubs can dialogue with UEFA on a direct basis and at club level, instead of via its respective association.

I form part of this organisation, better known as the “European Club Forum” and I can assure Mr Micallef that my job in representing the 27 clubs hailing from the smaller nations such as Malta as their group chairman was not what Mr Micallef’s article tried to imply.

My work meant travelling to attend meetings at UEFA up to 12 times a year, on a voluntary basis, with only travelling and accommodation expenses paid for by UEFA and yes, the occasional invitation to a prestigious match under the auspices of UEFA thrown in for good measure. Does Mr Micallef see any wrong-doing in this too?

I am sure that the ASA president is not expected to honour his commitments within this association and not be reimbursed for the expenses he may incur.

Mr Micallef chose to stress the point that “the football community was handed over, practically for free, the Ta’ Qali Complex”. I find such a statement strange, especially when Mr Micallef failed to mention the fact that many waterpolo clubs in Malta, among them Sirens ASC, were given temporary leases for a period of 49 years at a cost of just Lm300 per annum, in the same type of agreement as was reached with many football clubs on the islands.

Mr Micallef went on to criticise Birkirkara FC and make comparisons with the agreement my club has with a major fast food company in Malta. Instead of acknowledging the foresight with which our club negotiated an agreement which, in reality, eases the financial burden, in a very small way may I add, of running a club comprising of teams for children, youths, women and senior players, he chose to make an issue of this fact.

I too would like to ask Mr Micallef a question in this regard. Are the premises situated at Sirens ASC, namely the bar and restaurant, run on a non-profit basis?

As I have already said, Mr Micallef posted a disclaimer at the end of his article and for this reason, I apologise to my colleagues at Sirens AFC for making comparisons with that club, though I am simply trying to explain a number of points raised by Mr Micallef and I assure you all that my intentions are in “bona fede”.

It is no wonder that the level of improvement in both facilities and sport practised in Malta find so many distractions and obstacles. This “divide and rule mentality” will only ensure that our pleas will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Instead of pulling the same rope, we tend to pull in opposite directions.

Finally, I assure Mr Micallef that had my club been offered a choice between investing in the Millennium Stand or building an amount of smaller stadiums, there would have been no doubt where our vote would have gone. At the time, the agenda was simply the re-building of a new stand, no more, no less.

JOHN BORG

Birkirkara FC official