Compensation fees demanded by football nurseries when children move in between clubs will be eliminated within one or two years, outgoing Malta Football Association general secretary Bjorn Vassallo believes.

Interviewed by Online editor Stephen Calleja on INDEPTH, The Malta Independent's online programme, Mr Vassallo said that in the meantime certain measures have been implemented to stop abuse.

Earlier this month, The Malta Independent reported that The Malta Football Players Association has launched an online petition demanding an end to compensation fees for children who move from one football club to another.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, association general secretary Carlo Mamo and deputy general secretary Konrad Sultana both called for the abolition of the nursery compensation fee, which they described as an exploitative measure using children who play the sport as financial commodities instead of human beings.

Mr Vassallo, who will be leaving the MFA at the end of this month to join the team being built by new FIFA president Gianni Infantino, also said that he is not happy with the way the judicial system is dealing with cases of corruption in sport.

He said that a task force which includes the Malta Gaming Authority, the police, the political parties and Sport Malta has been working on a new law that tackles corruption in sport in a holistic manner. This legislation is expected to be tabled in Parliament shortly.