A new sporting year (2007) has started with a bang and also with one major disappointment.

The visit of AC Milan, one of the world renowned football sides, in this first week, will certainly remain a highlight of the whole year.

But it will not be the only event, of course. As highlighted during the week in two different news conferences, the Maltese Olympic Committee and the Malta Football Association have both outlined their plans for the coming year.

And it is obvious that the main highlights will be the forthcoming Malta-Greece European Football Championship qualifier (Greece are the defending European champions) and the Small Nations Games in Monaco next June.

It is expected to be another hectic year for Maltese sportsmen and sportswomen as well as the officials from the various federations, whether they work on the administrative side or on the technical side.

Milan visit

Let me start, however, with the visit of Milan which has generated quite an amount of interest which possibly exceeded all expectations. Milan themselves have been quite impressed with the welcome they have received in Malta and coach Carlo Ancelotti made Malta a big favour when he said during the week that he would not think twice to get his team for another training camp in Malta in future. In fact, he has been quoted as saying that they were impressed not just with the welcome, but also by the top class accommodation at the Radisson Golden Sands Resort in Ghajn Tuffieha, as well as the facilities available at Ta’ Qali.

I also felt proud to hear him saying that the whole Milan contingent was certainly happy to be here on this ‘wonderful and beautiful island.”

Well, these are comments we are all glad to hear, but we all have to be grateful to Birkirkara, especially their hard-working secretary John Borg, for taking the initiative to convince such a famous team to come over to Malta, not just for a football match, but for a whole week’s training camp.

Who knows, other top teams might be induced to come to Malta in the future, after this memorable Milan visit, which has also been given its due publicity abroad, especially in Italy!

Any why not, also a well done to the local Milan supporters who generally behaved well and obeyed the instructions given to them as they stormed to the the airport and the venues for the training sessions to be close to their favourites.

The visit will soon come to an end with the highlight being the friendly match between Birkirkara and Milan on Tuesday. I sincerely hope it will be a spectacle to be remembered by all those who have bought the tickets for the match.

Milan’s announcements that all their top players will be on the field of play should guarantee that spectacle. Against Birkirkara, I expect of AC Milan an exhibition game of the highest standards.

Monaco Games for European Small States

This edition of the Games is just five months away and it is obvious that the MOC is leaving no stone unturned to keep up the rhythm of success enjoyed by Maltese athletes during the past ten years or so.

MOC Director of Sport Pippo Psaila even went on to predict that Malta would finish in fourth or fifth place and winning a record nine gold medals. And this with shooting and women’s basketball not included in this year’s programme. Usually Malta always wins a good number of medals in these two disciplines.

The MOC president, Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco, feels that 2007 will again be a positive year for Maltese sport. His committee is working hard to continue improving over the results of the past, especially the historic silver medal won at last year’s Commonwealth Games by Rebecca Madyson in Melbourne.

In December 2007, we would all wish to see more Platinum Awards being handed out by the Maltese Olympic Committee. William Chetcuti, Marcon Bezzina and Diane Borg have been given the status of Elite Sports athletes and this should motivate them towards achieving more success in the future, apart from motivating their own colleagues in trying to emulate them.

The MOC president also thanked the press for their support in the past. Of course, journalists are very much aware that they can make and they can break an athlete. But they also have to find space for some objective criticism – even perhaps, when our athletes are not passing through a good moment. One has to realise that giving support to an athlete does not mean that he/she has to be praised all the time. Athletes must also be made aware of the fact that objective criticism is another source of motivation.

The best news so far was the announcement by Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco that the Government’s grant through the Maltese Council of Sport, will this year amount to a hefty Lm155,000. Compared to the previous year, it is a much bigger amount and it augurs well for the future. It seems, at last, that the local authorities are finally realising that sport is very much beneficial to the country, especially among our youths. Even if we always say ‘such amounts are not enough’.

Football in 2007

I was very much aware of the big game against Greece next March. What I did not expect was the failure of the national team to make it to the finals of the Team of the Year event in the National Sporting Contests (the list is being published elsewhere in the sports pages of this issue).

Had I been one of those players who represented Malta in that 2-1 victory over Hungary last December, I would have felt insulted. Whether or not the national team reached the criteria to join the finalists or whether there was a lapsus, I do not know.

But such a result, as everyone is aware, must be considered a great feat, despite the fact that other results were not so encouraging. Yet, that team made Malta proud, even if according to the selectors in these contests, theirs was a non-achievement!

The previous year, the same team had registered highly creditable draws against Croatia and Bulgaria. There was no mention either last year, if I am not mistake. This year there was a great upgrade. And yet no mention once again. Is the national football team expected to win the Group to get in the finals’ list, at least?

What a pity that while the MOC President and the MOC Director of Sport speak about motivation for the athletes, on the same day, our football ‘heroes’ were provided with this great disappointment.