Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been appointed as the chairman of an association representing Malta's professional football clubs, even though half of the Presidents of Malta’s professional football clubs did not vote in his favour.
The news was confirmed by the Malta Professional Football Clubs Association in a statement on Thursday, where they said that Muscat had been appointed to the post.
However, only 7 out of the 14 members of the association voted in favour of the former Prime Minister, who resigned from the country’s top role in 2019 under the shadow of street protests prompted by the arrest of individuals close to him over the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, for the post.
The statement confirmed reports that another four clubs voted against Muscat’s appointment, while three more abstained.
The vote was held in secret, however all clubs accepted that the result was good enough for Muscat to be appointed as chairman.
The MPFCA said that the changes which it will be implementing will lead to a Premier League which is more professional, sustainable, attracts more spectators to the stadiums and to television screens, increase presence and investment in young players, increase the amount of women in leadership positions, and make Maltese clubs more competitive at a European level.
"Dr. Muscat will start to lead this process of change with discussions with the MFA [Malta Football Association] in the near future," the MPFCA said.
In a statement on his own Facebook page, Muscat said that his role will not be one where he is involved in the running of individual clubs, but will be to lead the clubs as a collective towards an ambitious but possible set of reforms which will reform the highest championship of Maltese football.
Muscat outlined the aims of the project, which were explained by the MPFCA in their own statement.
He said that this is all part of the MFA's strategic plan and has to be done together with the MFA, adding that he believes that the reform will have a positive impact even on the Maltese national team.
"In many different phases of my life, when I spoke about plans I was always met with scepticism. Here, like I've always done - even in this voluntary role - I will work tirelessly and I will alow that work and the results to speak as facts," he said.
Muscat was the only name put forward for the post of MPFCA Chairman, even if other names had been floated in certain circles while the nomination period was still open.
The MPFCA is not a decision-making body within Maltese football, but is the body which represents the interests of Malta’s professional football clubs – ergo those which compete in the Maltese Premier League.
The end goal of this association however is to eventually have a legal framework in place so that it can eventually handle the operation of the Premier League in the country itself, in a similar manner to what happens in other countries.