Strand Palace Agency, through their new energy drink Hexis, will be sponsoring Valletta FC in their forthcoming matches in the Champions League.
This was revealed yesterday by Victor Schriha, Valletta FC president, during a news conference.
The City boss explained that the company had shown full confidence in Valletta FC and is well aware that it can introduce its energy drink successfully, especially among the large number of Valletta fans.
He also said that the company had also promised to open negotiations so that in future there could be a new form of sponsorship, perhaps not only limited to Champions League matches.
Schriha said he was confident that there will be a packed Hibs Stadium next Wednesday for the return clash against Tre Fiori of San Marino. “The admission fee is €10 and tickets are obtainable from Valletta FC and from the usual City outlets as from today. The match will kick off at 7.30pm,” he added.
The Valletta president said that the team was almost certain of its passage to the next round. “Now we have to keep our feet to the ground and look forward with optimism for our matches against Ekranas of Lithuania. If we manage to qualify for the third round, we will become the first Maltese team to reach the third round of the Champions League. And even if we lose at that stage, we will still qualify to take part in this season’s Europa League,” he added.
Schriha also revealed that Valletta are negotiating with a local player with a view to strengthening the squad for its Champions League matches. “We want to have something extra for our forthcoming clashes. It could be national team striker Michael Mifsud (still without a club) or any other player in Malta. I can also reveal that Ousseni Zongo will also be available for Wednesday’s clash as we have now received his international clearance.
“I am sure that Valletta FC are not inferior to certain clubs. A good result at home against the Lithuanians will make us even more confident of reaching the third round,” he stated.
The City boss also spoke about the progress on their proposed new stadium and clubhouse at Hal-Farrug, limits of Mqabba. He said that they were hoping their plan is approved before Parliament closes for the summer recess. “Then we will send our plans to MEPA for its approval – something which we hope will not take long to materialise,” he added.
He said that after the permits are granted, work will start on the construction of an 8,000 capacity stadium and the dressing rooms. “There will be another training ground as well in the first part of the project. Later we will see what structure is needed. The plans are for a large clubhouse for use by the supporters on weekends, especially when the team is playing on a Sunday. But we are also planning to have some foreign teams staging training camps at our facility in future,” he added.