Some of the fees parents were paying for their children’s sporting activities were being taken into account of in their income tax returns, Sport Minister Louis Galea said. VAT on capital expenditure was also being returned to sports organisations, and companies sponsoring sports organisations were getting tax cuts, he added, speaking when distributing e500,000 to 56 sports organisations which qualified for assistance from the Malta Sports Council.

During 2007, Dr Galea said, some e1,150,000 were distributed, and the government’s capital expenditure on facilities over the past four years was of over e3.7 million.

Dr Galea, who is also minister of education, said the revision of the curriculum would see not only an improvement of education and physical activities in school, but sports would be having a greater role in the formation of children at every level. The regional complex at Kirkop was completed in this legislature, and the next one would see the building of a regional complex in the north of Malta.

Assistance handed out to sports associations since the setting up of the Malta Sports Council in 2003 amounted to about e2.5 million. Through the council the government also assisted various sports organisations by offering the use of facilities to their members.

The Olympic Games would be held this year and, the minister pointed out, the sports council had also made a contribution by assisting the Maltese Olympic Committee in its training schemes for athletes. During 2007 the MOC had been assisted to the tune of about e374,000, Dr Galea said.