A special All Stars match with the participation of the top local and foreign players from the BOV Premier League will this year be the highlight of the second edition of ‘Gowl ghall-Istrina.’

The event will be held on Tuesday 21 December at the Hibernians Stadium. All proceeds from this event will go towards the annual fund-raising fixture, ‘L-iStrina’.

The organising committee, chaired by George Micallef, includes representatives from the Malta Football Association, the Premier League Standing Committee, the Youth FA and Replay, Net TV’s weekly football show.

The event will bring together most partners involved in local football and at the same time help raise much-needed money in aid of ‘L-iStrina’. The All Stars match, to kick off at 7.30pm, will be preceded by ten 7 v 7 exhibition matches on small pitches with the participation of all the ten Premier League Clubs’ Under 11 Nursery teams.

“What makes this initiative even more special is the fact that participants will raise money themselves through individual sponsors within their respective Premier League clubs”, said George Micallef. Youth Nurseries will also make their own contributions. Furthermore all proceeds from an auction of all the Premier League team’s shirts signed by the entire squad will be held during this Sunday’s edition of Replay on NET TV. Bidding will start at €50 for each shirt.

Entrance for the Gowl Għall-iStrina 2010 is free but the crowd present can make their donation in what promises to be a grand spectacle for the whole family. The organisers hope that businesses will also play a key role to maximise the sum collected.

MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo also addressed the press conference. He said that the Malta Football Association gave their full backing and support to this initiative since it helped to raise more funds for the ‘L-iStrina’ campaign while at the same time encouraged all Premier League clubs to work hand in hand with the organisers to hold a special event with the participation of the best of Premier League football.

Captain Mark Mallia and Marica Mizzi, on behalf of ‘L-iStrina’ 2010, also addressed the press conference. While praising the organisers for the initiative, they encouraged the sporting public to attend this special event and help raise more money in aid of ‘L-iStrina’. They also announced that His Excellency the President of the Republic, Dr George Abela, would meet the participants and kick-off the All Stars match.

Birkirkara and Valletta mentors, Paul Zammit and Jesmond Zerafa, will team up to lead the local selection while Hibernians’ Mark Miller and Floriana’s Todor Raykov will guide the foreign players’ team.

The Maltese team will include among their ranks current Footballer of the Year Shaun Bajada and other international players such as Andrew Cohen, Roderick Briffa, Massimo Grima, Jonathan Caruana, Ivan Woods, Gareth Sciberras, Andrew Hogg, Carlo Mamo and Ryan Fenech. Top foreign talent on parade will include Denni dos Santos, Manuel Mariano Bueno, Alfred Effiong, Jorge Santos Silva, Paul McManus, Marcelo Pereira, Jackson Lima and Everton Pereira. TeamSport are the official technical sponsors for this event.

Compères for the night will be Ronald Briffa, Sarah Agius and Enzo Guzman. The latter, together with Thea Garrett, will also be entertaining the crowd present prior to the All Stars match. This event is supported by AS Hibernians, General Soft Drinks Ltd, Sound Solutions Ltd, Best Print Co Ltd, Konica Minolta and International Merchants Co Ltd.

The players of the Maltese squad are:

Jonathan Caruana, Roderick Briffa, Andrew Hogg (all Valletta), Michael Galea, Shaun Bajada and Paul Fenech (all Birkirkara), Josef Mifsud and Steve Bezzina (both Sliema W.), Mario Muscat, Edward Herrera and Andrew Cohen (all Hibernians), Ryan Fenech and Massimo Grima (both Hamrun S.), Stefan Giglio and George Mallia (both Qormi), Carlo Mamo and Gareth Sciberras (both Marsaxlokk), Ivan Woods, Brian Said and Christian Caruana (all Floriana), Jeffrey Chetcuti and Steve Wellman (both Vittoriosa Stars), Manuel Caruana and Justin Grioli (both Tarxien Rainbows).

The coaches are Paul Zammit and Jesmond Zerafa, while team manager is Stefan Sultana. The kit manager is Marlon Galea and the physiotherapist is Aaron Saliba.