The Maltese Olympic Committee Hall of Fame recognises those people who have contributed to Maltese sport at the highest national/international level over a long period of time, whether as an athlete, coach or administrator, and any others who have made an outstanding contribution to Maltese sport. It also allows us to look back at our sporting heroes and recognise our great champions of sport.

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John Bencini (Is-Sur Gian)

Philanthropist, politician, trade unionist and above all sports administrator, Sur-Gian was one of the pioneers of Maltese football.

He began his career by founding the St Barbara Football Club of Valletta in the early 1900s. Between 1912 and 1915 he served as vice president of the Malta Football Association and in 1933 he founded what was to be and still is the leading amateur football club on the island, Melita FC. He led the club for decades as its president and founder, instilling in his players the ethos of “the game first and foremost, winning is not everything but wanting to win is!”

He epitomised the true Olympic ideals and the De Courebertin philosophy for sport and his legacy lives on today, as Melita is still donning its red and white colours and is the only amateur club whose status can be changed through a unanimous vote.

On his retirement, Sur Gian was appointed honorary president of the Malta Football Association.

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Alfred Grixti

Freddie, as he is known in sporting circles, was the undisputed best ever waterpolo player in the history of the game in Malta. His career at the top spanned more that 20 years, during which he won every major honour the game has to offer. He was a prolific goal scorer and an all-rounder with exceptional tactical acumen by which he could read the game with great ease.

He participated in the 1963 Mediterranean Games in Naples with the waterpolo team which also formed part of the Olympic Team in the same year; in 1975 the team participated in the Mediterranean Games in Algiers for which he was the captain.

Freddie was the national swimming champion in no fewer than four events for a number of years and in 1960 represented Malta at the Rome Olympics in the 100m freestyle. He won the Sportsman of the Year award on two occasions. He was selected to represent the Pick Army in both water polo and swimming events in Malta and overseas.

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Lewis Portelli MQR

Lewis Portelli’s sports broadcasting and journalistic career spans 49 years. Producer and presenter on radio and television, and on-course commentator at the Malta Racing Club, he is also a regular contributor to The Times. BBC trained, Lewis Portelli has travelled extensively covering international events and interviewing the world’s top sports personalities and administrators. He is the author of 13 books dealing with the World Cup, the Olympic Games and the Games of the Small States of Europe and of a special commemorative book covering the first 100 years of the Malta FA He is also the editor of The Football Year Book – Malta.

In 1994, he was invited to write and present a paper at the IOC Centennial Congress at the Sorbonne University in Paris with the title Sport in Small and Developing Countries. He was awarded the IOC prize in 1988 and again in 2004. In the 1993 National Republic Day honours, Lewis was awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika for his contribution to sport. In 2001, he won the Malta Press Club Sports Journalist Award.

He is a member of the University Radio Sportsopolis team and a winner of the Broadcasting Authority Award in 2002. He is a co-founder of the Sportswriters Association and founder of the Sportsmanship Trophy – Malta. In 1997, he was awarded the Premju Mons. Azzopardi for his voluntary work at Dar tal-Providenza.

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Major Nestor Jacono

From his early days at St Edward’s College, in the mid-1930s, Nestor Jacono showed great promise in sport, especially athletics. He was unbeatable in the 100 yards, not only during his schooldays but eventually also in the national championships.

After leaving school, Nestor continued to train hard and became Malta’s undisputed No. 1 sprinter. Although WWII brought all sports activities practically to a halt, he was determined to continue improving his national record. Nestor’s potential was recognised by the MAAA and he was chosen as the sole competitor to represent Malta at the first post-war Olympic Games, which were held in London in 1948. Organised so soon after the end of hostilities, Nestor never forgot the continuous cheers and clapping accompanied by shouts of “Brave Malta” as he proudly marched behind the Maltese flag around the Wembley Stadium track during the march past in the opening ceremony.

Back in Malta, Jacono continued to dominate the 100 yards event in the national championships for several more years. After he retired, he set up the Pegasus Club to encourage and train schoolchildren. He was later involved in the administration of sport in Malta, being a member of various sports organisations as well as a member of the Malta Olympic Committee.

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Carmelo Costa

A pioneer of local broadcasting, Carmelo Costa’s career began in the late 1940s in a Malta that was still recovering from the devastation of the Second World War. It was a time when radio was the only means of communication for the Maltese – a time when the nation was coming to terms with a new reality. Whatever the occasion, sports lovers would return home, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays, to listen to Carmelo’s comments on the sport of the day, which he would portray with great detail.

The first live broadcasts were launched by Carmelo and were the precursors of television, which would take over in the 1960s. His career had spanned 36 years when, in 1985, he called it a day. By that time he had already passed on his legacy to a host of personalities, including Lewis Portelli and Fr Hilary, to mention but two. Among Carmelo’s many achievements is the memorable commentary of the England vs Malta game played at Wembley stadium on 12 May 1971, when Malta almost scored in the last minute for a 1-1 draw.

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MOC council meeting