Malta’s first ever Futsal national coach, Michael Striz of the Czech Republic, was presented to the press officially yesterday.
MFA president Dr Joseph Mifsud said he is the first national coach in this sector which, he hoped, would improve considerably under his expert guidance.
Striz has coached several clubs in the Czech Republic as well as led the Czech Republic national team to third place in the European Championship three years ago. He is here to create a new team as the MFA intends taking part in the forthcoming European Championship. “He will also be helping club coaches, but at present, he is still getting used to the environment,” said Dr Mifsud.
Striz said he considered it a challenge to start afresh with the Maltese national team. “So far, I have been here just 10 days. It is too early to make assessments, but I promise to work hard to get the desired results,” he said.
Dr Mifsud confirmed that 64 teams would again be taking part in this year’s domestic competitions, confirming the popularity of the game.
Another speaker, MFA vice-president John Farrugia, who is responsible for Futsal, said the game had developed a lot in the last eight years. “It now forms an integral part of the FIFA/UEFA programmes,” he said.
Farrugia added that it was the MFA’s intention to move one step further this year – the creation of the national team. “This is an important step ahead. With our participation in the European Championship in January, we will have covered all sectors within UEFA, that is, we would be taking part in all their competitions,” he said.
Farrugia said the national team will have three training sessions a week, twice at the Hibs Pavilion and another session at the De la Salle gym. “We still lack experience compared to all the others in Europe, but we hope to gain ground through the appointment of Mr Striz,” he said.
He also announced that another historic step was that being made by the Hibernians Futsal team which will be taking part in the Champions League in the middle of September. “Even here, Mr Striz has offered his help to the local club so that they might be able to cut a good figure,” he said.