It was revealed yesterday that the Maltese Council for Sport (KMS) is offering the sum of €248,500 in direct assistance to the Maltese Olympic Committee. This sum will be re-allocated to the associations in full.

Addressing journalists during a Media Breakfast yesterday morning, MOC president Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco said the KMS had also offered the sum of €120,000 to be used by the MOC specifically for the Games for the European Small States in Liechtenstein.

Farrugia Sacco said these amounts were apart from others in a package which has been offered by the Council for Sport. It also includes subsidies on the rental for the MOC offices at Tal-Qroqq, the Diagnostic Functional Laboratory and the gymnasium membership, all amounting to just over €20,000.

The package also includes the employment of two full time employees with the MOC, as well as a part-timer – their salaries amount to around €50,160.

The MOC president went on to say that the amount was still lower by half the amount which was granted by government on the occasion of the 2003 Games in Malta, when the number of medals reached the record amount of 44.

He said the MOC was trying to increase its income through other means to pump it back into sport so that Maltese athletes would be prepared in the best way possible to achieve better results. But he insisted that more funds were needed for local athletes to continue showing the improvement desired by everyone.

He said that the MOC would need around €200,000 for its participation at this summer’s Games for European Small States in Liechtenstein.

And MOC Director of Sport Mark Cutajar made it clear that only those who qualify according to the contracts to be signed with the associations concerned will be allowed to take part.

He also referred to non-resident Maltese athletes and said that the list will only be announced next May, although there will be no surprises.

Earlier Farrugia Sacco spoke about the several activities organised by the Maltese Olympic Committee during the past year, foremost among which were the Commonwealth Games participation in India and the organisation of the 31st European Olympic Committees seminar – the third to be hosted by Malta since 1998.

He made a special reference to the Commonwealth Games, saying that there had been some disappointment for the fact that no medals had been won. “But I must say we have a lot of positive performances and we had several athletes finishing very close to the medal zone,” he added.

The other events included participation at the Youth Olympics, the recently held Friendship Games, the MOC’s Sports Awards and the Olympic Day run.

The MOC president went on to speak about forthcoming activities. Apart from the Small Nations Games in Liechtenstein, there will be an important meeting of the Mediterranean Games Federation next month during which a decision is expected to be taken about the feasibility of holding the 2013 Games in Volos, Greece. He said the situation at present was more or less the same as it was last year when no guarantee was available on whether the Games Village will be completed on time as there were no funds available.

He said that the MOC will also be sending young athletes to take part in Games to be held in Palermo, Trabzon and the Isle of Man during the year.

At the start of the meeting, MOC Media Director Charles Camenzuli announced that the MOC president had been awarded the European Olympic Committee Olympic Laurel – one of four who received it the past year – in recognition for Olympic services rendered in favour of the Olympic Movement.

The MOC also presented a medal to Manwel Gauci, former sports editor of In-Nazzjon Taghna in recognition for his 41 years of service to sport.