A triangular tournament for the Capo d’Anno Cup is being held at Ta’ Qali national stadium next Thursday 30 December with the participation of Premier clubs Qormi and Valletta, and Italian Serie B side Triestina.

The organisers announced during a press conference yesterday that the Italian side will be undergoing a training camp in Malta next week – they will be arriving on Monday at 1.30pm via Rome.

A few weeks ago, the club inaugurated a football school of their own at De La Salle College and even provided the opportunity for Hibernians-based youngster Jurgen Degabriele to go for a trial with the club.

Youngsters of the Triestina School in Malta will be acting as ball boys during the tournament.

Kenneth Vella, president of the Triestina Soccer School Malta, said the Italian club were impressed with the facilities on offer at Ta’ Qali. They are to be accommodated at the Mellieha Bay Hotel.

Their visit here has been made possible through the sponsorship of several firms, among them Powerade, Circo Martin, Easy Gas Malta Ltd, Marindex Trophies, Emotions, G7 and Fantinel.

Vella thanked the president of the MFA, Norman Darmanin Demajo, the association’s Chief Executive Officer, Bjorn Vassallo, for their support and help towards the organisation of the tournament, as well as local clubs Valletta and Qormi who accepted to take part.

Victor Sciriha, Valletta FC president, and Victor Camilleri, Qormi FC vice-president, both thanked the organisers for their invitation, adding that it was an honour for both of them to be taking part in such an event alongside a foreign club.

Valletta boss Sciriha said that Valletta have now made it a custom to take part in such events at this time of the year. Sciriha said: “First it was Juventus here, then we went to Ancona. Last year it was Parma and now Triestina.”

On behalf of Qormi, Camilleri went on to say that the team’s target was still that of reaching the Top Six in the second phase of the League, confirming that the club was interested in strengthening the team with the acquisition of at least one foreign player., But he also said that they were also giving trials to some local players.

The tournament is to be screened live by Triestina Channel (TV) and some journalists from Tirests are also expected to be here with the team the whole training camp.

Every match will be of a 45-minute duration with referees being provided by the MFA. A trophy will be given to the winners and another to the best player of the tournament.

An admission charge of €6 is being levied. Youngsters under 12 will enter the Stadium free while Kartanzjan holders will pay a reduced price of €4.

Programme

(at Ta’ Qali Stadium on Thursday 30 December)

6.30pm Qormi-Valletta

7.30pm Triestina-Qormi

8.30pm Valletta-Triestina