In the last two weeks, this newsroom has taken on a sporting topic with sentiments that are well known, but scarcely reported on.

Those involved in Malta’s footballing community – particularly those involved in the lower levels of the game – are well informed of how the clubs which play in Malta’s second and third (and in the past, even fourth) tiers have felt that they are not treated as well as their more professional counterparts in the Premier League.

These feelings of frustration were relayed to The Malta Independent on Sunday last week, with a number of club officials and players expressing their frustration at various things ranging from what they see as ‘discrimination’ between them and the Premier League.

One example, for instance, is in how the Centenary Stadium ceased to be watered before every match now that it is only used for games for lower leagues and not the Premier League, while another is of how the position of stretcher-bearers was removed hence forcing players to carry off their own injured teammates from the pitch.

Amateur League – Malta’s lowest tier – players meanwhile expressed their bitter anger and disappointment at how they hadn’t even been allowed to use showers and dressing rooms because of the Covid-19 measures imposed.

The Malta Football Association (MFA) eventually replied to the story through a right of reply yesterday, where they denied the suggestion that lower league clubs are being ‘left behind’ but also confirmed the details which officials and players told to this newsroom as part of the initial story.

Besides saying that the Centenary Stadium does not necessarily need to be watered, that the stretcher bearer issue had been rectified, and that they were discussing how the right solution for the shower and dressing room issue can be found with Sport Malta, the MFA said that clubs across the board are having 50% of their operational competition costs covered and that financial assistance is given to grassroots and promotional football where all costs are fully covered for children’s competitions.

This is indeed positive, as is the action to rectify the stretcher bearer issue and to discuss a solution for the shower issue.  The changes show that this newsroom’s story had the intended effect of at least sharing some of the struggles which people in these lower divisions have faced in the hope that they would be rectified.

The MFA has, in the past few years, overseen a good improvement in Malta’s footballing fortunes, particularly on a national level.  National teams across various age groups have achieved a number of good results, showing that the direction for the country’s footballing prospects is definitely upwards.

Football remains easily the most popular sport in Malta, and it is a pity to see how officials and amateurs had to resort to the media in order for what they are facing to be heard.

In this world where football has, globally, become more of a business than a sport, those in charge cannot lose sight of the people who truly make up the game: the amateurs who play for little more than their own love for the sport, and ultimately the supporters who follow their respective teams so fervently.

These are the people keeping football alive, so hopefully more can be done in order for these key stakeholders to not look at football with a sense of being felt disrespected against – but more with a sense of the enjoyment that makes football, as a sport, the beautiful game that it is.