In his administartive speech, the Association CEO Bjorn Vassallo described the past year as one of ‘transition’ during which the MFA encountered several challenges in the form of restructuring in the Technical Sector, club competitions’ format, in the referees, the legal and commercial sectors and information technology, as well as shifting to regional football away from Ta’Qali.
The MFA strengthened its inner structures to give its members a bigger say.
The Grassroots project was defined by the CEO as a “breadth of fresh air” that will lead to future success, stressing the need of heavy investments in finances and resources.
With everyone on board, the MFA has moved into a new era where everyone wants to be.
More control on matchday operations, especially with the introduction of the new ticketing system, has yielded more savings to the MFA.
After the first season, during which domestic competitions encountered radical changes in format and composition, the MFA announced a net income of €710,712 in gate money, an increase of almost 13.5 per cent over last season, although hardly comparable.
Almost 156,00 paying spectators made it to the football grounds in season 2011/12, well more than 10,000 increase in the previous season’s figures. The BOV Premier League registered an increase of 11 per cent in attendances, with a 151 per cent increase in the BOV First Division. There were decreases though in Division 2 (50 per cent) and Division 3 (52 per cent) attendances.
The most positive note was that no member club incurred any losses from participation in local competitions last season.
Bjorn Vassallo warned about the still existing threat of corruption but insisted that the MFA will remain vigilant.
He ensured the mutual respect between the MFA and UEFA and confirmed the good relations that exist between the two bodies by the fact that Malta was chosen as the venue to organise the UEFA Under 17 tournament in 2014.
Meanwhile, voting at yesterday’s General Meeting only took place for two vacancies of Council Members representing Member Clubs in general. Mr Michael Cutajar (74 votes) and Mr Charles Scerri (65 votes) were elected, ahead of third contender Mr Raymond Micallef (36 votes).
Other ordinary members of the Executive Committee for 2012/13 are:
Premier Division: Paul Spiteri/John Vella
First Division: Tyrone Demanuele/Joseph Sammut
Second Division: Manuel Gauci/Albert Pace
Third Division: Joseph Farrugia (Marsa)/Paul Sammut
Youth FA: Joseph Micallef
Gozo FA: Alvin Grech
Other Member Associations: Lino Bartolo/Donald Spiteri