Italian giants AC Milan will be in Malta between 2 and 9 January for a one-week training camp at the Ta’ Qali grounds of the Malta Football Association.

Birkirkara chairman Victor Zammit yester donfirmed that Milan will be here as the guests of the local champions.

Their visit is thought to be the fruit of contacts made by the two clubs’ representatives in the UEFA Club Forum, John Borg of Birkirkara and Umberto Gandini of Milan. They are reported to be good friends and therefore it is no surprise that this visit will materialise.

A Milan fact-finding mission is expected to arrive in Malta next week to discuss arrangements and to locate the right accommodation for the players and the officials accompanying them.

Milan will be expected to come over with their full squad, including all their top players and coach Carlo Ancelotti. It is also possible that director general Adriano Galliani will be accompanying the contingent.

During their visit to Malta, Milan will be expected to play a friendly match against Birkirkara on 8 January, the final day of their training camp.

And also during that week, the Milan clan will be flying to Italy to play the Berlusconi Cup match against Juventus on 6 January – the day of the Epiphany – an annual match which is normally played before the start of the season, but was postponed to a later date because of the Calciopoli scandal and also because of Milan’s commitments in the Champions League.

The match against Birkirkara is expected to be transmitted live on the Milan Channel.

It is the third time in Birkirkara’s relatively short history that they are encountering a club of high calibre as Milan. Earlier, the Stripes, together with Sliema, had combined to play a match against Juventus. And three years ago, the Stripes played hosts to English club Manchester United.