MFA president Dr Joe Mifsud informed the Council that the new floodlighting system at the Hibernians Football Ground will be inaugurated prior to the Under 21 friendly international match between Malta and Denmark on Tuesday 10 February.
The MFA will soon be applying to have the Centenary Stadium at Ta’ Qali sanctioned by UEFA to start hosting UEFA club competition matches. It is envisaged that the first UEFA competition matches at this stadium will be played during the end of June/beginning of July 2009.
FIFA informed the MFA that the match officials for the forthcoming World Cup qualifying match between Malta and Albania on Wednesday 11 February will be from Romania.
Proposed amendments by the Executive Committee to several regulations of the association were unanimously approved by the Council. Some of these amendments were a follow-up to certain amendments to the MFA Statute.
The Council decided that the BOV Premier League matches scheduled for Saturday 21 February (the first day of Carnival) will now be played on Friday 20 February.
The Council agreed in principle to amend the rules of the Euro Challenge Cup Competition following changes made by UEFA to its competitions for clubs. Malta will now be represented by four teams in the two major UEFA competitions for clubs.
Dr Mifsud gave further details on the MFA Project regarding the improvement of the sports facilities of Member Clubs and Member Associations. Mention was made of the projects already executed and about other projects, some of which were at completion stage and of others in the pipeline.
The MFA had issued a tender for the construction of the base and the supply and lay of artificial turf (minimum FIFA One Star) in different sizes ranging from full-size pitches to smaller ones, for 12 different localities.
All these will benefit from an MFA grant (not loan) from a e4m Fund created by the MFA and to which the MFA is contributing 50% through a bank loan from BOV and UEFA is contributing the other 50% through its HatTrick Programme 2.
The Council also congratulated Dr. George Abela, former MFA President, on his nomination as the next President of the Republic of Malta.