A record number of 11 teams (including the non-competitive Under 19 Selection of the ASA) will be taking part in this year’s Winter League. The teams have been divided into two divisions – six teams and the Under 19 team in the Premier League and four teams in the First division. The Premier League teams are Exiles, Neptunes, San Giljan, Sirens, Sliema and Valletta. The first division teams are Marsascala, Marsaxlokk, Otters and Ta’ Xbiex.
The ASA has decided to make a sort of seeding in the sense that the top three teams in last season’s summer league, that is, Neptunes, San Giljan and Sliema, are to play the matches between them near the end of the competition. This year the competition is starting on 21 February due to the several commitments of the national teams. In fact, there will no matches in April. The league will come to an end on 17 May.
Addressing a news conference yesterday at the ASA Headquarters at Tal-Qroqq, Joe Caruana Curran, ASA president, said that the association was de- lighted to see an increase in participation. “This year, we will have a record number of teams – 10 and the ASA Under 19 side, and this is a sign that interest in participation is increasing. It will also be the first time that the Winter League will be consisting of two divisions due to the large number of participants. The Premier League will consist of one round (round robin) while the first division will consist of two rounds.
The Winter League will coincide with the playoffs of the European championships where Malta will be facing France away on 15 February and then play the second leg in Malta on 1 March. He also said that the Under 16s will be playing in a tournament in Brno, the Czech Republic, during the Easter holidays and the Under 19s will be playing in the qualifying round in May, the finals of which are to be held in Tbilisi, Georgia, in August. The national (seniors) team is also taking part in an 8-nations tournament with the participation of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Den- mark, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Portugal. This is being held in Limerick, Ireland. Then there will be the participation of the national team (seniors) at the Commonwealth Championship in Aberdeen, Scotland. “It will be another eventful year for the national teams. I am sure they will do their best to obtain the best results possible,” said Caruana Curran.
Anthony Scicluna, Chief Officer at Bank of Valletta, said the bank and the game of waterpolo had become synonymous, this being the seventh consecutive year that BoV is sponsoring all competitions. “We are pleased with the high level of competition and that means that crowds are also on the increase at the Tal-Qroqq pool to support their favourite teams,” he said.
The draws for the opening rounds were also made yesterday and resulted as follows: Friday 21 February Div. I Ta’ Xbiex-Otters; Premier League San Giljan-Sirens Saturday 22 February Div. I Marsascala-Marsaxlokk; Premier League Valletta-Sliema; Exiles-Neptunes.