All football and futsal competitions except for the Premier League and the FA Tropy will be terminated, the Malta Football Association (MFA) said on Wednesday. The decision was taken in light of the Covid-19 situation.

The MFA's Executive Committee said the health, safety and well-being of players, spectators and all those involved in football as well as the public remains the overriding priority.

"The Exco today took the decision to end the league competitions organised by the Malta FA, excluding the BOV Premier League and FA Trophy, as well as those run by the Gozo Football Association. The sporting outcome of these competitions i.e. relegation and promotion issues and play-offs, will be decided in due course," the MFA said.

This decision was taken in light of the latest guidance issued by the Government in replying to the Malta FA's formal request about the viability of the timeframes for the potential restart of the domestic football competitions.

In its reply, the Government stated that it is not in a position to confirm with certainty when the restrictive measures affecting the Malta FA can be lifted.

Beyond the decisions to be taken by the Goverment on the restrictive COVID-19 measures currently in place, the Malta FA is preparing for all eventualities. In this context, the Malta FA's Medical Unit and Match Operations Department have prepared a detailed medical protocol in the event that sports activities can resume behind closed doors. This onerous medical protocol would be difficult to implement, both logistically and due to the hefty expenses involved.

Meanwhile, for the BOV Premier League and FA Trophy, which determine the four teams taking part in next season's UEFA club competitions, the Malta FA will adhere to the recommendations and guidelines issued by UEFA, always taking into account the directives given by the health authorities. A final decision on these two competitions must be made by May 25 - the first deadline established by UEFA.

The decision to terminate the national leagues, which is also intended to lessen the financial impact of COVID-19 on the clubs in these categories, applies to the following competitions:

• BOV First Division
• BOV Second Division
• BOV Third Division
• GFA BOV First Division
• GFA BOV Second Division
• BOV Women's League
• Youth League and Knock-Out
• Women's Under-19 and KO competition
• Women's Under-15 and KO competition
• Elite Futsal League and KO competition
• Futsal Amateur League and KO competition

MFA to advance payments to clubs

The MFA also said it will advance the payments from two schemes to alleviate the financial problems being faced by its member clubs due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The remainder of the budget allocated for the Guaranteed Gate Income Scheme, totalling €264,250, will be paid by the end of May 2020.

The solidarity payments from the Young Players Development programme, which has a pot of €167,385, will also be paid in advance. In addition to the clubs in the BOV Premier League, First, Second and Third Division, the teams taking part in the Gozo FA's First and Second Division competitions also benefit from this scheme.

The combined total of these two schemes is €431,635 with €333,635 to be paid out to clubs by end of May as over €98,000 have already been disbursed.