Late last month, the Malta Football Association decided to prematurely end all competitions under its remit, except for the Premier League and the FA Trophy, because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The two main football competitions were left pending because they are linked to international competitions, with several teams still in contention to win a place in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League and Europa League.

Each premier league team has six matches to play for the competition to come to an end, while the FA Trophy was at the semi-final stage.

The MFA needs to make up its mind on what to do before 25 May, the first deadline imposed by UEFA. The European governing body, by that date, expects at least an indication on what all European football federations intend to do.

To be fair, there is still so much confusion all over Europe with regard to football competitions. What has been officially determined so far is the postponement of the Euro 2020 championships to next year; the rest is still anyone’s guess.

Some countries have already decided to completely halt their competitions, including France and Holland, and now federations are facing legal proceedings by clubs claiming that they were unjustly treated by decisions which, they say, go against fairness in sport. Other European football associations are still to make up their mind, with the likelihood that the season will continue, probably with matches played behind closed doors.

But in Malta, apart from deciding what will happen with regard to relegation and promotion from the respective leagues of the lower divisions, the most important verdict that the MFA must reach is what to do with its topmost competitions.

This is because, among other factors, big money is involved, given that the four places in European football were still very much up for grabs before the season came to a halt in March. A place in a European competition, as all football enthusiasts know, brings in so much money local clubs desperately need.

The health authorities are reluctant to give indications on what they have in mind. On 1 May, Prime Minister Robert Abela, when announcing the relaxation of some measures related to the virus, said that the situation will be revised in three weeks. That would technically be 22 May – still in time for the MFA to decide. But whether any new relaxation of measures will allow teams to train is something that we do not know yet. Each time she has been asked, Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci is reluctant to say what will happen. When she was asked about a letter sent by three premier league clubs for training to resume on 1o June and for the season to continue on 1 July she did not commit herself.

The decision that will be taken by the MFA will most likely depend on what the government and health authorities will do next week, when, as promised, the situation is revised. There are chances that the competitions will be completed without the presence of spectators, but there is also the possibility that the season will be declared over.

Whatever option will be chosen, we are sure that not everyone will be happy.