All football matches in connection with the Malta Football Association – Premier League, First division and second division – which were scheduled to be played yesterday, were postponed due to the inclement weather.
The association has not yet announced when and where the matches involved will now be played.
In a statement, the association added that the canopies at the National Stadium and the Centenary Stadium suffered extensive damage as a result of the strong winds. Even the scoreboard at the National Stadium suffered some damage.
Some damage to the Hibernians Stadium was also reported, but this seemed to be minimal, the statement said.
Contacted yesterday, MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo said the Police had advised the MFA not to stage any matches yesterday, even if the weather had improved in the afternoon. “I think it was the best decision in the interests of everyone, considering the early morning conditions and the Local Council elections.
“We are aware that we cannot hold any matches before making the Stadium secure for everyone. We have to fix the sheets which have fallen down and replace those that have been ripped apart. It is still a developing situation which, we hope, will become clearer this morning. We might even be able to hold matches without using the sector which has been effected,” he added.
Darmanin Demajo added that he was sure the damage caused would be fixed in a few hours, but was not in a position to say when repair work was to be taken in hand. “First we have to do this preliminary work to make the canopy secure once again. Later we will be fixing the whole thing to make sure it is completely secure,” he said.
The MFA also announced that today’s football programme depends on the weather conditions prevailing. A decision on whether the programme is to go ahead will be taken this morning.
The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) also postoned its programme of matches in connection with the Bank of Valletta Winter waterpolo league.
In a statement, the ASA sais that the dates when the matches will be played shall be announced shortly.
The reason given for the postponement was because the National Pool had to be closed yesterday due to the large quantities of sand that went into the water during the previous night’s storm over Malta.
On Friday evening, the Malta Table-Tennis Association also postponed its programme of matches at the University Sports Hall in view of the strong winds which hit the island and which could have been detrimental to the several children participating in its competitions.