The president of the Maltese Olympic Committee, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco spoke about the Monaco results while addressing a news conference early yesterday afternoon.

His main emphasis, however, was over the fact that a certain large number of foreigners was now taking part in these Games and because of that, the image is dropping considerably, even if admittedly, the standards are getting higher.

Farrugia Sacco lashed out at such participation giving as an example, the athletics discipline, in which Monaco presented a squad of 30, 27 of whom were French. “When the combined team from Malta, Monaco, San Marino and Andorra is selected for this weekend’s European Championships, they (the Monagesque) will only have three of those 30 eligible for selection. This shows clearly why Monaco have made such progress, even if those athletes had become eligible to take part in one way or another,” he said.

Farrugia Sacco said that this put Malta at a disadvantage, but asked: “What do the Maltese people want? Maltese athletes fighting for the medals, or foreigners playing to get onto the podium?” He said that from the feedback he had received it was clear that everyone was in favour of more locals taking part, adding that he would find no objection to launching more Maltese non-residents so long as they had a Maltese passport.

He added that the result was perhaps not the one desired. “Yet, it was good enough to place us fifth, equal to that in Andorra two years ago, where we took part in one more discipline – nine not eight,” he added.

The MOC president said the Games had captured the imagination of almost everyone in Malta. “We have been invited to meet the Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, tomorrow, which was a clear indication that even the authorities have taken note of Malta’s participation at these Games,” he said.

It was here that he mentioned that the MOC was in the process of building a new team. “We cannot just say thank you to athletes who are now considered as veterans. They have given and are still giving a big contribution to Maltese sport. But I must say I am glad that we have many youngsters who have responded magnificently in Monaco. Now it is time to see what we can do to get even better results in two years’ time,” he added.

Farrugia Sacco said the MOC needed more funds to prepare the athletes better. “A bigger investment in sport will enable us to present a stronger team in future. I am convinced we will then reach a historical target in Cyprus,” he said.

Farrugia Sacco also reiterated that the Games for European Small Nations were not held to give athletes experience, but to gather the fruit of two years of preparation. He also said the MOC was not the launching pad for athletes to make the grade in their discipline. “That was in the hands of the associations,” he added.