June 2003

Sat 28

• Intertoto Cup Hibernians vs Allianssi 1-1
• UEFA's 52 member associations and some of their clubs received more than €25m in solidarity payments from last season's Champions League. The Malta Football Association, together with Hibernians, Birkirkara and Sliema Wanderers received a total sum of €501,000 (around Lm213,000).
  Each association received €195,000 (Lm82,000).
  Clubs eliminated in any of the three qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League or in the UEFA Cup qualifying round received €52,000 per round played. In addition, champion clubs which did not qualify for the Champions League first group stage each received €98,000.
  Former champions Hibernians managed to reach the second qualifying round of the Champions League and will therefore receive €202,000, equivalent to Lm 86,000.
  On the other hand, Valletta and Birkirkara, will receive €52,000 (around to Lm22,000).
  The teams to receive most money from the competition were Juventus and Milan. Juventus received more from the market pool than their conquerors in the final, Milan, because they finished the 2001/02 Italian domestic season as champions, while Milan finished fourth. European champions Milan will receive €45.79 million while Juventus receive €49.713 million.
• Three Premier League clubs - Hamrun Spartans, Floriana and Valletta - were yet to apply for a licence to take part in competitions organised by the Malta Football Association, although the closing date was June 1st.
  Other clubs who did not file their application include Xghajra Tornadoes, Ghaxaq, Luqa St. Andrew's and Ta' Xbiex.
  These clubs have not been given a week's chance and they should apply by July 2nd. If the applications are not received, it will be up to the Council of the Malta Football Association to decide whether to allow these clubs to take part of not. Meanwhile clubs cannot register new players before a license is issued.
  It seems several clubs are not taking the matter of licenses seriously as only eight clubs handed the application before the original deadline.
  The only clubs to apply in time were Pietà Hotspurs, Rabat Ajax, Dingli Swallows, Vittoriosa Stars, Fgura United, Sta. Lucia, Sta. Venera Lightenings and Siggiewi.
  All the remaining clubs applied over the first three weeks of June.
  Licenses will be issued by July 15th.
• The Malta Football Association will be discussing the national team set-up once Malta's commitments in the EURO 2004 Qualifying Round are over with the game against Israel on September 10 in Antalya, Turkey.
  The game against Israel also marks the expiry of the contract of national coach Siegfried Held.
  After that game, the national team will only play one or two friendly matches besides the International Football Tournament, previously known as the Rothmans Tournament, which is expected to be held in February 2004. The first competitive matches from the World Cup 2006 qualifiers will be played in September or October 2004.
  Rumours have it that even the professional scheme, which is costs the association about Lm 300,000, could be dismantled. The scheme was adopted in 1986. Since then there were only some slight changes in the scheme.
  Meanwhile Michael Degiorgio is the latest addition to the list of coaches in the MFA's youth sector. Degiorgio joins Charles Agius, Stephen Grima, Edwin Camilleri, Charles Scerri and Silvio Vella.

Fri 27

• Sliema Wanderers will be hosting Skonto Riga of Latvia at the Hibernians Ground in the first leg of the Champions League first qualifying round on July 16.
  Sliema Wanderers have now promised to install 2,000 seats at the Hibernians Ground. Without these seats, the Hibs Ground would have not satisfied one of the necessary criteria to host UEFA club competitions.
  This will therefore be the first time in two decades that a home match involving a Maltese team in one of the main UEFA competitions that will play outside the National Stadium.
  What prompted Sliema to search for an alternative venue was the MFA Executive Committee's decision to ask the three clubs to pay fees for using the National Stadium for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and UEFA Cup.
  Sliema were asked to pay Lm5,000 while Birkirkara and Valletta were asked to pay Lm1,000.
  From the meeting of the Council of the Malta Football Association which was held on Thursday, it emerged that this decision was taken as the association was faced with huge expenses amounting in thousands of liri in trying to keep the pitch in top condition for these games which are being held as early as five weeks before the usual kick-off of the local season. So far, the MFA asked for a 20% of gate-money, television rights and international advertising. However the income generated was very low and the association felt it was subsidizing the clubs taking part in the UEFA competitions, although they were already receiving subsidies amounting to thousands of liri from UEFA.
  Therefore the Executive Committee decided on a guaranteed sum from the three clubs taking part.
• Hibernians are looking forward to reaching a second round in a European competition for the second time in succession as they host Finnish side AC Allianssi in the second leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup on Saturday.
  A 1-0 victory for Allianssi in the first leg still leaves the chances wide open for the two sides.
  Since they are bound to win, Hibernians coach Robert Gatt may opt to start with three strikers - Adrian Mifsud, Ndubisi Chukunyere and Antoine Zahra. Malta international goalkeeper Mario Muscat who a muscle in his thigh in the first leg is expected to recover in time for the game.
  A clash with a Greek team, Akratitos FC, lies ahead in the second round. In the third round, the winner faces Italian side Perugia.
• The MFA Technical Centre will be holding the first Instructional Meeting for ‘C’ Licence, Foundation, Club Coach Certificate and Youth Development Diploma Coaches for Season 2003-2004 on Monday, 14th July, 2003, on the Training Grounds of the MFA Technical Cente, Ta’ Qali, starting at 17:30.
  The practical session will be conducted by Mr Stephen Grima, Staff Coach at the MFA Technical Centre. The theme of the session will be on ‘Pre-Season Training Programmes’.

Thu 26

• Malta international midfielder Noel Turner completed a successful season with Sliema Wanderers to claim the Footballer of the Year award 2002/03.
  Turner, who already won the award in season 1995/96, obtained a total of 46.52%. Michael Galea of Birkirkara was the runner-up with 42.71% while Adrian Mifsud of Hibernians placed third with 39.19% ahead of William Camenzuli (Birkirkara) with 38.03% and Nicky Saliba (Valletta) with 33.54%.
  Mqabba striker John Paul Muscat was voted as the Best Player of The Year in the First Division after obtaining 43.72%. Elvin Attard of Senglea Athletics and Glenn Barry of Lija Athletic placed second with 42.16% and third with 39.68% respectively. Fourth was William Borg of Rabat Ajax with 37.98% and Alex Camilleri of St. Patrick with 36.47%.
  Stephen Cassar of Zebbug Rangers was voted as the Best Player in the Second Division while Keith Darmanin won the award for the Third Division. Adam Smeir of Rabat Ajax won the Best U-19 Player award. On the other hand, Dorianne Theuma of Hibernians won the award for the Best Player in the Women's League.
  Best Player - Second Division: Stephen Cassar (Zebbug) 44.66%; 2. James Galea (Luqa SA) 41.48%; 3. Kevin Gauci (Mellieha) 39.45%; 4. Bernard Sciberras (San Gwann) 37.67%; 5. Marco Muscat (Attard) 36.75%.
  Best Player - Third Division: Keith Darmanin (St George's) 46.90%; 2. Alister Camilleri (Kirkop U.) 41.58%; 3. Ludvic Fardell (Zejtun C.) 41.11%; 4. Paul Camilleri (B'Bugia SP) 37.82%; 5. Clayton Mifsud (Fgura U.) 32.58%.
  Best Player - Youths U/19: Adam Smeir (Rabat A.) 45.75%; 2. Kristian Calleja (Lija A.) 44.09%; 3. Trevor Cilia (Floriana) 40.82%; 4. Kurt Zammit (Valletta) 39.26%; 5. Mauro Brincat (Hamrun S.) 30.08%.
  Best Player - Women's League: Dorianne Theuma (Hibernians) 44.82%; 2. Rebecca D'Agostino (Birkirkara) 40.18%; 3. Sandra Sammut (Mosta) 39.37%; 4. Maria Azzopardi (Melita) 38.16%; 5. Jacqueline Abdilla (Melita) 37.48%.
  Best Player - Futsal: Francis Sant (Air Malta Cabin Crew); 2. Guzi Xuereb (Hibernians); 3. Christopher Borg (Jeepers Auto Traders).
  The top scorers in the various divisions were also announced:
  Premier League: 18 goals - Michael Galea (Birkirkara), Adrian Mifsud (Hibs) and Danilo Doncic (Sliema); 12 goals - Lucian Dronca (Birkirkara) and Ndubisi Chukunyere (Hibs).
  First Division: 20 goals - Daniel Nwoke (Msida); 15 goals - William Borg (Rabat); 13 goals - Victor Egere (Gozo) and Ikechukwu Chibueze (Mqabba); 12 goals - Jeremy Agius (Msida).
  Second Division: 27 goals - Simon Shead (Tarxien); 21 goals - Mark Psaila (San Gwann), 9 goals - Aaron Guazzo (Tarxien); 8 goals - Jonathan Sapiano (Dingli), Adrian Galea (Mellieha), Karl Sciberras (San Gwann), Igor Stefanovic (Tarxien).
  Third Division: 14 goals - Matthew Borg (Melita), 13 goals - Keith Darmanin (St. George's), 12 goals - Alistair Camilleri (Kirkop), 11 goals - Paul Camilleri (Birzebbuga), 10 goals - Sandro Lapira (Ghaxaq) and Charlo Debattista (Gudja).
  Women's League: 19 goals - Doriane Theuma (Hibs), 11 goals - Sarah Caruana (Hibs) and Joanne Vella (Hibs), 10 goals - Nora Agliano (Birkirkara), 8 goals - Sadia Mizzi (Mosta).

Wed 25

• Following the 1-2 home defeat to Cyprus, Malta lost another two places in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking as published on Wednesday. Malta is now 130th and is fast-approaching the lowest ranking ever since the list was first published in 1994.
  Malta has lost eight places since last December after suffering defeats to Kazakhstan in February, France in March, Slovenia in April and Cyprus in June.
  Between June and August 2001, Malta was anchored in the 133rd place but since then, the national team had managed to climb to 116th in July 2002.
  Malta plays Luxembourg in a friendly match on August 19 and then plays the final EURO 2004 qualifier against Israel in September.

Tue 24

• Sliema Wanderers midfielder Massimo Grima was handed a three-month ban after testing positive in a doping test carried after a Premier League match between Pietà and Sliema in April.
  Grima admitted taking some slimming pills - fat-burners - obtained from a pharmacy about which he did not inform the club doctor. The product contained ephedrine.
  The suspension comes into effect on August 1 and therefore Grima will be back on November 1. Sliema Wanderers were fined Lm 100.
  The medical commission considered the case as a borderline between two categories based on the method of intake of the substance in question. One category had a maximum supsension of 3 months and the other a suspension of two years. Therefore the maximum suspension in the lower category was applied.
  As per the new doping regulations, a player who tests positive in a doping test will be suspended for a minimum of 6 months. In a second case, he will be suspended for two years and if the player tests positive for a third time, a life-suspension will be inflicted.

Sun 22

• A goal in stoppage time by Brazilian striker Adriano denied Hibernians what could have been a positive goalless draw against AC Allianssi in the first leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup first round.
  However a 1-0 defeat still leaves Hibernians a fine chance of reaching the second round of the competition. A clash with a Greek team, Akratitos Neon Liosion FC, lies ahead. In the third round, the winner faces Italian side Perugia.
  Hibernians host Allianssi on Saturday at the Hibernians Ground, kick-off at 17:30.

Sat 21

• Brazilian striker Eduardo Do Nascimento returned to Floriana after signing a three-year contract while another four players will undergo a trial as the Greens search for their third foreigner. This was announced during a press-conference which was held at the Bugibba Holiday Complex on Saturday during which more details were given about the club's current situation and the triangular tournament which will be held in July.
  Bizu, who spent last season playing for Sliema Wanderers and then Nadur Youngsters. In Gozo, Bizu helped Nadur win the championship, the Jum il-Helsien Cup, the Noel Vassallo Cup and the GFA Super Cup.
  Four foreign players will undergo a trial before Floriana take a decision on who will be the third foreigner. The players are Nigerian forward Chika Onyekaba, a midfielder from Turkey, a midfielder from Brazil and Congolese striker Rufin Oba. Riad Gango-Rtsa has been confirmed as one of the foreigners while Grigol Gvazava and Boyko Simeonov were released. A number of players return with the club after being on loan with other clubs, namely Kurt Formosa, Julian Briffa, Mario Caruana, Mark Galea, Liam Mangion, Albert Busuttil, Kevin Mifsud and Richard Buhagiar. The club is making it clear that those players under contract will not be transferred, requests for transfers will only be taken into consideration if players are no longer in the plans of coach Ziya Yildiz, who has been confirmed for next season. So far there were two requests for Richard Buhagiar from Marsaxlokk and another Premier side and a request for Stephen Wellman from First Division side Tarxien Rainbows.
  The Greens are interested in signing Hamrun Spartans duo Graham Bencini and Roderick Bajada. The Malta Football Association recently ordered Hamrun to settle a debt of Lm 11,200 (over the transfer of David Galea) and Floriana are offering to take the two players in exchange.
  Floriana will start their pre-season training on July 7. The highlight of the pre-season will be a triangular tournament which will be held between July 26 and 31. Floriana extended an invitation to Bolton Wanderers to take part in the tournament. This visit came to reality thanks to Mr Neville Neville. Bolton will arrive on July 26 with their first team, including the likes of Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Gudni Bergsson, Stylianos Giannakopoulos and Jussi Jasskelainen. Ironically 49 years ago, Floriana organised a similar tournament and had extended a similar invitation to Bolton to participate. Unfortunately due to financial constraints, Bolton were unable to make the trip.
  In the first match on Sunday 27, Floriana meet Birkirkara. The Stripes face Bolton on Tuesday 29 while Floriana take on Bolton on Thursday 31. This game should act as a testimonial match for Dennis Cauchi. Roger Walker of Marsaxlokk, a former player of Bolton, will be playing for the Greens as a guest player. All games will be played at the Hibernians Ground at 18:30.
  A reception will be held at the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort where the presentation of the trophies and commemorative medals will be presented to all the participants of the tournament. Tickets for the matches will be on sale at Lm 2.50 per match or Lm 6.00 for a block ticket from July 1 onwards. Tickets will be available from the Bugibba Holiday Complex, Coastline Hotel, Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort, Jobbers Ironmongery, Vilhena Band Club, Birkirkara FC, Market Kiosk and Sultana Stationery.
  Meanwhile in order to make the club viable as well as self-sustainable, a full restructuring programme was carried out within the club over the past two years. Although the team has suffered over the past years, Floriana can now boast one of the youngest teams in the Premier League where the current average age is just over 20 years, with no less than six players who regularly form part of the national teams. The club is now aiming to develop the Floriana FC training grounds with the installation of three synthetic turf pitches instead of the existing 7-a-side pitch. This project should be completed by early 2004.
  Speaking on behalf of the Floriana committee, club treasurer and PRO Trevor Zahra thanked all those persons, committee members and supporters for their contribution towards the club during last season, especially outgoing President Dr Hugh Peralta. Dr Peralta has now been given the title of Honorary President of the club and Chairman of the Floriana FC Youth Nursery.
  The new committee of Floriana FC is composed of 12 persons. Dennis Burke has returned to the folds of Floriana FC as president whilst Charles Micallef is once again vice-president. The club's secretarial duties will be administered by Alfred Cauchi whilst the duties of treasurer will be carried out by Trevor Zahra. Adrian Gauci and Paul Xuereb have been appointed as assistant secretary and assistant treasurer respectively. George Carbone has been appointed as MFA Council member whilst Tony Zahra, Mark Piscopo, Charles Sammut, Anthony Stellini and Keith Falzon are members of the committee.
  The official sponsor will once again be Fexco Malta while Teamsport are sponsoring the full kits for the club.
• Former Marsa president Joe Gauci has been elected in the new committee of Sliema Wanderers.
  Gauci stepped down earlier this season following a clash with the rest of the committee.
  Also part of the Sliema committee is Arrigo's right-hand man, Jeffrey Farrugia.
  The new committee is made up of Robert Arrigo, John Bugeja, Robert Dingli, Tony Meli, Joe Gauci, Jeffrey Farrugia, Mark Migneco, Godfrey Pace, Eddie Borg, Charles Borg and Censu Borg.
  Robert Arrigo, John Bugeja and Robert Dingli retain the posts as president, secretary and treasuerer respectively.
• Hibernians hope Nigerian midfielder Ndubisi Chukunyere will be fully fit as the Paolites face Finnish side AC Allianssi in the first leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup first round on Sunday at the Pohjola Stadion, Vantaa.
  Chukunyere opted to play for Hibs rather than join the Nigerian national team who plays against Angola in an African Nations Cup qualifier on Saturday. This decision was taken following discussions between Hibernians and the Nigerian FA.
  Hibs will be hoping to achieve a result which would keep them in contention for a place in the second round of the competition when they host them at the Hibs Ground.
  Included in the Hibs squad is young Nigerian striker Udochukwo Nwoko, who plays regularly for the Paolites in the Youth League.
  The players who are at Robert Gatt's disposal are:
  goalkeepers Mario Muscat and Rainier Farrugia;
  defenders Roderick Baldacchino, Kevin Cassar, Edmond Lufi, Branko Nisevic, Cesar Paiber, Adrian Pulis, Aaron Xuereb;
  midfielders Adrian Ciantar, Ndubisi Chukunyere, Peter Pullicino, Essien Mbong, Miguel Mifsud and
  strikers Andrew Cohen, Adrian Mifsud, Udochukwo Nwoko, Antoine Zahra.
  The return leg will be played on Saturday 28 at the Hibernians Ground.
• Sliema Wanderers have proposed to Skonto Riga that the two legs of the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round will be held in Riga.
  This decision was taken in order to avoid paying the Lm5,000 fee for using the National Stadium about which the Malta Football Association informed the clubs lately. Sliema will have to pay Lm 5,000 while Birkirkara and Valletta will have to pay Lm1,000.
  However Sliema's request will not be accepted by UEFA.
  Meanwhile the Blues will have to abandon plans to sign former Manchester United midfielder Ben Thornley for the games against Skonto Riga due to the new MFA regulations which state that players' contracts should have a minimum duration of one year, as stipulated by FIFA. The signing of guest players is therefore no longer permitted.
  Birkirkara and Valletta were somehow satisfied with the draw as the options provided by the division of teams into groups based on geographical criteria, could have been worse on a technical or logistic basis.
  Valletta vs Neuchatel Xamax will probably be anticipated to Tuesday 12 August. Both Birkirkara and Valletta were drawn to play their first game at home and this would have provided a problem since UEFA does not allow two matches to be played at the same stadium on the same date. Otherwise the fixture could be reversed and the first leg would be played in Switzerland.
  Once again Birkirkara will be travelling to East Europe but not to the former Soviet Union as it was the case in the past two years. The return game between Ferencvaros and Birkirkara will be played behind closed doors following a decision by UEFA because of the serious crowd disturbances which marred the Hungarian side's UEFA Cup match against VfB Stuttgart on October 31 last year. UEFA has already informed the Stripes that only 75 persons may travel to Hungary, including players, club officials and journalists.

Fri 20

• Sliema Wanderers were drawn to meet Skonto Riga of Latvia in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. The first leg will be held at Ta' Qali on July 16, with the return match being played on July 23.
  The team who qualifies will be meeting the champions of Denmark, who have not been named yet since the Danish League will only come to an end this weekend.
  Skonto Riga are no newcomers for Malta having played against Valletta in 1997. The Citizens won 1-0 at Ta' Qali but lost 2-0 in Riga to be eliminated.
  Skonto featured regularly in UEFA competitions since 1992/93. In all they played 48 matches, winning seventeen and losing 22 with the remaining nine ending in draws.
  They managed to qualify for further rounds on several occasions, eliminating KÍ Klaksvík (Faroe Islands) in 1992, Olimpia Ljubljana (Slovenia) in 1993, Aberdeen (Scotland) in 1994, Newtown (Wales) in 1996, Valletta in 1997, Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) in 1998, Jeunesse Esch (Luxembourg) and Rapid Bucharest (Romania) in 1999, Dudelange (Luxembourg) in 2001 and Barry Town (Wales) in 2002.
  Meanwhile Sliema Wanderers have proposed to Skonto Riga that the two legs of the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round will be held in Riga.
  This decision was taken in order to avoid paying the Lm5,000 fee for using the National Stadium about which the Malta Football Association informed the clubs lately. Sliema will have to pay Lm 5,000 while Birkirkara and Valletta will have to pay Lm1,000.
  However Sliema's request will not be accepted by UEFA.
  The Blues will have to abandon plans to sign former Manchester United midfielder Ben Thornley for the games against Skonto Riga due to the new MFA regulations which state that players' contracts should have a minimum duration of one year, as stipulated by FIFA. The signing of guest players is therefore no longer permitted.
• As expected, luck did not favour the Maltese clubs taking part in the UEFA Cup preliminary round draw.
  Valletta were drawn to meet Neuchâtel Xamax FC of Switzerland. In the 80's and early 90's, Neuchâtel was one of the leading teams in Switzerland, taking part regularly in UEFA competitions. They even managed to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1981/82 and 1985/86. In Europe, they played 56 matches - winning 23, losing 17 with the remaining 16 ending in draws.
  They have been absent from European football for the past five years as the club went through a bad period in which they were regularly engaged in the battle against relegation.
  Last season, Neuchâtel placed third, 22 points behind champions Grasshoppers and 21 points behind runners-up FC Basel. In the Swiss Cup final, Neuchâtel-Xamax lost 0-6 to FC Basel.
  This is not the first time, Neuchâtel-Xamax will be playing in Malta having met Floriana in the UEFA Cup in 1991. The first leg at Ta' Qali ended in a 0-0 draw with the Swiss side winning 2-0 in Switzerland.
  Valletta vs Neuchatel Xamax will probably be anticipated to Tuesday 12 August. Both Birkirkara and Valletta were drawn to play their first game at home and this would have provided a problem since UEFA does not allow two matches to be played at the same stadium on the same date. Otherwise the fixture could be reversed and the first leg would be played in Switzerland.
  Birkirkara, on the other hand, will face Hungarian giants Ferencvárosi TC.
  Ferencvaros won the Hungarian league 27 times and the Cup 19 times. In Europe, they managed to win the Fairs Cup in season 1964/65 when they beat Juventus of Italy 1-0 in the final. Three years later, they were the losing finalists to Leeds United in the same competition. They were again the losing finalists in the Cup Winners Cup 1974/75 final when they lost to Dynamo Kyiv. Their best achievement in recent years was in 1995/96 when they reached the group stage in the Champions League.
  Last season, Ferencvaros placed second, two points behind champions MTK Budapest. However they managed to win the Hungarian Cup beating Debreceni VSC 2-1.
  In 1971, Ferencvaros met Floriana in the Cup Winners Cup. Floriana won 1-0 at the Gzira Stadium, thanks to a goal by Louis Arpa, but the Magyars won 6-0 at home.
  Both Valletta and Birkirkara were drawn to play their first game at home. The qualifying round will be played on August 14 and 28.
  Interesting to note that the return game between Ferencvaros and Birkirkara will be played behind closed doors following a decision by UEFA because of the serious crowd disturbances which marred the Hungarian side's UEFA Cup match against VfB Stuttgart on October 31 last year. UEFA has already informed the Stripes that only 75 persons may travel to Hungary, including players, club officials and journalists.
• Hibernians striker Ndubisi Chukunyere turned down an invitation to play for Nigeria against Angola in order to play for Hibernians in the first leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup first round against AC Allianssi of Finland next Sunday.
• The group stage teams participating in the Budweiser 5-a side Pub Challenge was held over the weekend at Luxol football grounds.
  Veterans Ray Vella and Guzi Xuereb, for Zmerc Pub, displayed all their class to beat Ryan's Irish Pub in the first match of the tournament. However their experience was not enough to keep them from losing to the younger energetic Peppermint Park team who went on to win Group A.
  In Group B, King's Own Band Club had little difficulty to win both matches and hence the group. The defenders of Places and Qube Vodka Bar had a tough time marking in- form striker Noel Tabone of King's Own Band Club.
  In the most balanced group, Conquest Pub won Group C with a close win on Black Bull Pub. In the last match, goalkeeper George Vella from Dive Bar was voted man of match after showing impressive reflexes to deny Black Bull from winning the match.
  Tournament favorites Rookies Sports Bar, hammered Huggins and Smart to win Group D. They scored impressive 26 goals in 2 matches. Huggins beat Smart to make it through to the second round.
  In Group E, Hacienda Bar showed brilliant team play and tactics to win the group. Tac-Caccu Social Club veterans played well against Tower but were out of steam against Hacienda Bar.
  Star player Wayne Borg St. John, of Halfway Inn Bar, displayed fine skills. His flair was too much for opposing defenders to control. In the Gozitan derby, Café Jubilee had the better of Arkadia Foodstore to qualify from Group F in second place.
  Talented Mosta FC players failed to play as a team and are out of the tournament after losing both matches against The Bar and O'Casey's. Claude Grech for O'Casey's, was an inspiration for his team mates as they won a hard fought match against The Bar in order to avoid favorites Rookies in the second round.
  Birkirkara FC played very organised football. The team is built on a solid defense, which was beaten only once. This proved to be the right tactic to win Group H. Il-Bahri won against Henry J Beans to make it through to the second round.
  The second round of the Budweiser 5 a-side soccer tournament will take place tomorrow, while the quarter finals will be on Sunday 22nd June. All matches are being held at the Luxol Grounds.

Thu 19

• The second edition of the Westin Malta Football Awards was launched during a press conference at the Westin Dragonara Resort, St. Julian's. The best players in each role, foreigner, coach, referee and assistant referee will be among those to be awarded during the presentation night which will be held on July 26.
  Organizer Sandro Micallef said the positive comments received following the first edition encouraged the organizers to hold a second edition of the awards. An innovation in this edition is the launch of two new categories: one for the best assistant referee and one for the most beautiful goal of the season.
  A total of ten team captains, ten club presidents (or high-ranking officials) and 29 football journalists voted for the several awards. Unlike last year, voting will not restricted to just six players in each category but each person had the possibility of choose any player or official.
  There will be eleven categories in all:
  

  L-Aqwa Attakkant (Best Striker)
  L-Aqwa Midfielder (Best Midfielder)
  L-Aqwa Difensur (Best Defender)
  L-Aqwa Goalkeeper (Best Goalkeeper)
  L-Aqwa Player Malti (Best Maltese Player)
  L-Aqwa Player Barrani (Best Foreign Player)
  L-Aqwa Coach (Best Coach)
  L-Aqwa Referee (Best Referee)
  L-Aqwa Assistant Referee (Best Assistant Referee)
  L-Aktar Zaghzugh Promettenti (Most Promising Youngster)
  L-Isbah Goal (Most Beautiful Goal)
  

  The Organizing Committee, which included two members nominated by the Malta Football Association, will supervise the voting and discuss other special awards which could be presented. They will also vote for the most beautiful goal of the season.
  The hosts for the presentation night will be John Busuttil and Stephanie Farrugia while a number of TV, radio and sports personalities will be presenting the awards. Youri Djorkaeff and Jay-Jay Okocha, who both play for Bolton Wanderers, could present one of the awards.
  The winners will be presented by an original trophy produced by Mdina Glass.
  Meanwhile, addressing the press conference were also Renzo Correzuola, General Manager of the Westin Dragonara Resort, and John Farrugia, vice-president of the Malta Football Association.
  Correzzuola said last year's edition was well-followed and well-received and it was natural for a second edition to be held in order to ensure continuity. He concluded by saying that Westin Dragonara was happy to give its support since "hospitality is an ambassador of culture, just like sports."
  Farrugia, on the other hand, said he was glad such an initiative was taken for a number of reasons. These awards were not meant just for the best player in the Premier League but to the best players in the different roles. The Malta Football Awards also bring together players, officials and journalists and therefore for a player or an official, this has a greater meaning as the award is coming from all sectors of the game.
• The draw for the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup will be held at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday. The draws for the first two preliminary stages of the Champions League will be held at 12:00CET. The UEFA Cup draw will follow two hours later.
  Birkirkara and Valletta are set for difficult draws in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Following the division of teams into groups based on geographical criteria, Valletta were placed in Group C while Birkirkara were placed in Group I.
  Valletta will be meeting one team among FK Viktoria Zizkov (Czech Rep), FC Kärnten (Austria), Neuchâtel Xamax FC (Switzerland) and FC Dinamo Bucuresti (Romania).
  Birkirkara, on the other hand, will face PFC Levski Sofia (Bulgaria), HNK Hadjuk Split (Croatia), Ferencvárosi TC (Hungary) or FC Torpedo Moskva (Russia) .
  The qualifying round of the UEFA Cup will be played on August 14 and 28.

Wed 18

• The finalists for the Best Player Awards in the Youth League and the Women's League were announced.
  Running for the award for the Best Youth player are Mauro Brincat (Hamrun Spartans), Kris Calleja (Lija Athletic), Trevor Cilia (Floriana), Adam Smeir (Rabat Ajax) and Kurt Zammit (Valletta).
  On the other hand, Jacqueline Abdilla and Maria Azzopardi (Melita), Rebecca D' Agostino (Birkirkara), Dorianne Theuma (Hibernians) and Sandra Sammut (Mosta) are the finalists for the Best Player Award in the Women's League.
• Former Lija, Pietà and Marsa coach Patrick Curmi is set to be appointed as the new Hamrun Spartans coach. Curmi would replace Atanas Marinov who joined Valletta.
  The decision would be taken once the new committee is announced. This is now possible after that fifteen nominations were received over the past four days. Hamrun Spartans will be electing a new president since Dr David Farrugia Sacco opted not to seek re-election.
  Curmi was already part of the Hamrun coaching staff a few years ago before he joined Lija Athletic in Division 1. Since then he also coached Pietà Hotspurs and Marsa. He should be assisted by Stefan Sultana. Both Curmi and Sultana attended the UEFA A Licence coaching course organised by the Malta Football Association in April and May.
• Hibernians striker Ndubisi Chukunyere was included in the 18-man squad for the African Nations Cup qualifier against Angola in Benin this weekend.
  However Chukunyere could turn down this invitation as he is still struggling to regain full fitness from an injury.
  In the meantime, Minabo Asechemie of Marsa was not included in the Nigerian squad although a spokesman for the Nigerian FA had given an indication that he could be one of the players who could have been called.
  Both Chukunyere and Asechemie were left out of the Super Eagles' 18-man squad for next month's friendly international against Ecuador in Texas, USA.

Tue 17

• Dennis Burke is the new president of Floriana FC.
  Burke was appointed as president after he and George Carbone were co-opted to the committee during the first meeting of the new Floriana FC committee on Monday.
  Charles Micallef, Alfred Cauchi and Trevor Zahra will act as vice-president, secretary and treasurer/PRO respectively.
  Meanwhile the club also appointed Dr Hugh Peralta, as honorary president. On the other hand, Ziya Yildiz was confirmed as coach for next season.
  In order to strenghten their squad, Floriana are expected to sign Edoardo Do Nascimento, who played for Sliema and Nadur Youngsters last season. Rufin Oba could also be another target for the club although a Nigerian striker will be given a trial next month. Grigol Gvazava and Boyko Simeonov will be released.
• Sliema Wanderers midfielder David Camilleri seems to be one of the main targets for Valletta during the close season.
  Despite finishing third last season, the Citizens are not expected to make much changes from last season's squad although they will have Bulgarian coach Atanas Marinov as their new mentor. Marinov replaces Dennis Fenech.
  Valletta lost Nicky Saliba who called it a day after a long career and are resigned to losing Malta captain David Carabott. Carabott already requested a move to his home-town Marsaxlokk where he wishes to end his career but over the past days, champions Sliema Wanderers have reportedly expressed interest in the player.
  In fact, Carabott and David Camilleri could be involved in an exchange deal between the two clubs. Camilleri has been seeking a move to another club after failing to conquer a regular place in the Sliema line-up.
  The Citizens are also interested in Malta Under-21 defender Kurt Farrugia. Farrugia was on loan with Marsaxlokk from Pietà Hotspurs last season. The Hotspurs could release Farrugia in exchange for Sharlon Pace who was on loan with Pietà from Valletta.
  As regards foreigners, Chris Oretan and Milen Penchev will be confirmed. On the other hand, the committee is yet to discuss the position of Bulgarian midfielder Rumen Galabov who joined the club in January.

Mon 16

• The draw for the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League will be held on Friday. With a ranking of 1.499, Sliema Wanderers are one of the unseeded teams in the draw and therefore, they are bound to meet one of the ten seeded sides of the First Qualifying Round.
  Sliema will therefore face one of the following teams: HJK Helsinki (Finland), Skonto Riga (Latvia), Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus), Bohemians (Ireland), Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova), Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia), Leotar Trebinje (Bosnia), FBK Kaunas (Lithuania), KR Reykyavik (Iceland) and Vardar Skopje (Macedonia).
  The unseeded sides in the draw are BATE Borisov (Belarus), Sliema, Pyunik Yerevan (Armenia), Barry Town (Wales), SK Tirana (Albania), Flora Tallinn (Estonia), Glentoran (Northern Ireland), CS Grevenmacher (Luxembourg), HB Torshavn (Faroe Islands) and Irtysh Pavlodar (Kazakhstan).
  The first round will be held on July 16 and 23.

Sat 15

• George Mallia brought to an end speculation that he try a new adventure with another club by agreeing a new four-year deal Birkirkara. This contract will therefore see Mallia stay with Birkirkara at least till June 2007.
  A number of clubs were interested in securing his services especially after it was announced that he as one of the players who had written to the Malta Football Association requesting the right of transfer in March. Leading the race to sign Mallia were Sliema Wanderers.
  George Mallia, a product of Sliema Wanderers, made his Premier League debut with the Blues in season 1995-96 but after failing to conquer a regular place in their starting line-up, he moved to Floriana in 1998-99. Mallia stayed four years with Floriana before being transferred to Birkirkara in July 2002 as he searched for a club with which he could win the major honours.
  The 24-year old striker played an important part in the Stripes' success in the final part of the season. Throughout the past months, Mallia also became a regular choice in the national team.
• Floriana FC are yet without a president although the club's Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday.
  There were twelve nominees for the new committee but three candidates, namely former club president Dennis Burke, George Carbone and Charles Micallef, withdrew their nominations.
  The other nine candidates - Tony Zahra, Trevor Zahra, Alfred Cauchi, Adrian Gauci, Mark Piscopo, Charles Sammut, Keith Falzon, Paul Xuereb and Tony Stellini - was elected in the new committee but none of them were interested in taking the post of president. Outgoing president Dr Hugh Peralta opted not to seek re-election.
  The matter will now be discussed in the first meeting of the new committee which will be held on Monday. But in the mean time, the club has launched an appeal to find someone who is interested in occupying the post.

Fri 14

• Malta Under-21 defender Lee Lombardi will be joining Sliema Wanderers after just one year with Pietà Hotspurs.
  Sliema's official website, www.eswfc.com, reports club President Robert Arrigo as saying that Lombardi has agreed on all terms to join the Blues. The U-21 defender will be joining Sliema on a free transfer.
  Lombardi, a product of St. Andrews, joined Pietà in August although Hibernians were also interested in securing his services.
  Another Pietà player, Jamie Pace is also expected to sign for Sliema when the transfer market opens officially on July 1. On the other hand, Chris Okoh will be moving in the opposite direction as his one-year loan spell with the Blues came to an end.

Thu 12

• Sliema Wanderers captain Noel Turner starts as favourite to win the MFA Footballer of the Year Award when five players were shortlisted. Turner leads by one point over Michael Galea of Birkirkara.
  Also running for the award are Birkirkara's William Camenzuli, Nicky Saliba of Valletta and Adrian Mifsud of Hibernians.
  The main advantage which Turner has over Galea is that the former was a regular choice with the national team. Galea, on the other hand, is not even part of the squad. Other elements which will be taken into consideration before the winner is announced is the number of Premier League appearances, yellow and red cards.
• Birkirkara have replaced Hibernians in the triangular pre-season tournament which will be held at the Hibernians Ground during the last week of July.
  Taking part in the tournament besides Birkirkara are Floriana and English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers.
  Bolton Wanderers will be in Malta for a one-week training camp after accepting an invitation by Floriana FC. They arrive in Malta on July 26 and will stay until August 2.
  The first match from the tournament will be between Floriana and Birkirkara on Sunday 27. Birkirkara face Bolton on Tuesday 29 while Floriana take on the English side on Thursday 31. All games will be played at the Hibernians ground, all games kick-off at 18:30.
• Budweiser, official beer sponsors of Manchester United, is organising a second 5-a-side soccer tournament. This follows the successful first edition that was held last summer. Owners of establishments which offer Budweiser to their clients were asked to nominate one team composed of seven soccer players from their establishment.
  The draws of the Budweiser 5-a-side tournament were held at Farsons Brewery. Twenty-four teams are being divided into eight groups of three teams. The first 2 teams in each group will qualify for the next stage, which will follow a knockout system up to the final. The preliminary round will kick off this Saturday 14th June. All matches are being held at the Luxol football grounds.
  The Budweiser 5-a-side soccer tournament carries a spectacular prize with the winning team travelling to New York to participate in a Budweiser 6-a-side tournament against international opposition. In addition the winners will have the opportunity to watch Manchester United play against Juventus at the Giants Stadium. The owner of the winning commercial outlet will be invited to join the team on this tour to New York.
  The second placed team will receive Lm400 whilst the third placed team will receive Lm200. The fourth placed team will take home Lm100. Each team will receive a free Budweiser football t-shirt to use during the tournament.
  "Following last year's success, we decided to make the prize for this year's winners a memorable experience which only Budweiser can offer. Participating in an international tournament in New York and watching Manchester United playing against Juventus at the Giants Stadium is the dream of many soccer enthusiasts in Malta," said Budweiser Brand Manager, Mr Geoffrey Busuttil.

Wed 11

• Joe Caruana Curran, the president under whose guide Valletta FC managed to win all the major honours local football could offer, stepped down from his post as president and a member of the Valletta FC committee.
  The club's official website, www.vallettafcofficial.net, reports that Caruana Curran's decision was taken on personal grounds, and had nothing to do with him not getting the highest number of votes during last week's elections. "Nicky Saliba ended the golden era of Valletta FC of the 90's. I was part of the era, therefore my era should also come to an end," stated Mr. Caruana Curran.
  Caruana Curran handed his resignation during the first meeting of the new committee on Tuesday. It seems that several attempts were made in order to convince "is-Sur Joe" to change his mind. But these attempts proved futile.
  The new president is now Charles Camilleri who obtained the highest number of votes in last week's Annual General Meeting. Camilleri's post as Treasurer will be taken by Mario Muscat.
  
  Paul Spiteri and Anton Abela were confirmed as Executive Vice-President and General Secretary respectively.
• Jamie Pace seems to be the main target for Sliema Wanderers during the close season.
  Pace, who started his football career with the Sliema Wanderers youth nursery before moving to England, has been playing in Malta for the past two years with Pietà.
  The two parties seem to be close to reaching an agreement. The transfer fee should be in the region of Lm17,000 with Pietà Hotspurs asking to be paid in cash.
  Also interested in Pace were Marsaxlokk and Birkirkara.

Mon 9

• Maltese FIFA Referee, Mr Anton Zammit, will control the UEFA Under-21 Championship Qualification match between San Marino and Hungary to be played in Serravalle in the Republic of San Marino on Tuesday, 10th June. Zammit will assisted by Messrs Joe Camilleri and Alan Camilleri as Assistant Referees and Chris Lautier as Fourth Official.
• A charity event consisting of a 50-hour football marathon in aid of the Community Chest Fund will be held in Birzebbuga in mid-July.
  This event will be held under the patronage of H.E. the President of Malta, Prof Guido De Marco. There will be continuous activities around the football pitch. The event will be held on the 18, 19, and 20th July at Pretty Bay - Birzebbuga.
  Interested teams should email bugasp@maltanet.net for more information or for applications.
• Birkirkara F.C. Youth Nursery under 10 has won the fourth "Alfred Borg Memorial 2003" which was held between Saturday 7 and Sunday 8th June 2003 at the Infetti Training Grounds.
  Naxxar L., St. Patrick F.C., Mosta F.C., Hamrun S., Zebbug R. and Birkirkara F.C. were the teams participating in this fourth Edition. Birkirkara won this Tournamnet one point ahead Naxxar L., Mosta placed third, Zebbug fourth, St. Patrick fifth and Hamrun sixth.
  Mrs. Borg and her children presented a cup to the winners. Each player that participated in this tournament was presented with a commemorative medal.

Sun 8

• Despite a good performance in his debut for Nigeria in the LG Cup, midfielder Minabo Asechemie was not included in the squad for the African Nations Cup qualifier against Malawi and the friendly match against Brazil.
  A spokesman for the Nigerian FA said that seven players, including Asechemie, have been dropped from the squad for these two matches "but they should all be back for the match against Angola later this month."
  Nigeria host Angola on June 21 in Lagos.
  The Marsa midfielder made his debut for Nigeria in a four-nation tournament featuring Ghana, Cameroon, Ghana, Iran and Nigeria last week.
  Nigeria won the tournament after beating Cameroon 3-0 after extra-time on Sunday.
  For the past months, Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu has been experimenting with new players over the past months. In fact Ndubisi Chukunyere also had the opportunity to play for the national team in a friendly match against Egypt in November.

Sat 7

• EURO 2004 Malta vs Cyprus 1-2

Fri 6

• UEFA Under 21 Championship Malta vs Cyprus 0-1
• Malta will be hoping to collect its first points in their EURO 2004 campaign as they host Cyprus on Saturday.
  But it will be a difficult task for Malta as regular players like Joe Brincat and Darren Debono are ruled out injured. Also on the casualty list are defenders Ian Ciantar and Daniel Theuma plus striker Adrian Mifsud. Miguel Mifsud and Malcolm Licari were also dropped from the provisional squad.
  On a more positive note, Gilbert Agius was included in the 18-man squad. Agius returned for Valletta after being ordered to rest for five months due to a nagging groin injury.
  This will be the sixth clash between the two countries, but only the second competitive match. Malta only managed to beat Cyprus once in a friendly in Limassol back in 1988 with two matches ending in a draw and the other two ending in wins for Cyprus, one being last November's 2-1 win in Nicosia.
  The players selected by Held are: goalkeepers Saviour Darmanin (Pietà Hotspurs), Mario Muscat (Hibernians);
  defenders William Camenzuli (Birkirkara), David Carabott (Valletta), Jeffrey Chetcuti (Sliema W.), Luke Dimech (Birkirkara), Carlo Mamo (Sliema), Brian Said (Sliema), Simon Vella (Airdrie U. - SCO);
  midfielders Gilbert Agius (Valletta), David Camilleri (Sliema), Stefan Giglio (Lokomotiv Sofia - BUL), Jonathan Holland (Floriana), Noel Turner (Sliema) and
  forwards - Daniel Bogdanovic (Cherno More Varna - BUL), George Mallia (Birkirkara), Michael Mifsud (Kaiserslautern - GER), Chucks Nwoko (Birkirkara).
  The match officials are from the FA of Austria. The referee is Bernhard Brugger who will be assisted by Norbert Schwab and Franz Maislinger and fourth official Richard Kern.

Thu 5

• Sliema Wanderers midfielder Joe Brincat will have to postpone his international retirement as he is set to miss next Saturday's EURO 2004 qualifier against Cyprus after failing to recover from an injury.
  Brincat, who played 102 matches scoring 5 goals for the national team, planned to play his last international game at Ta' Qali on Saturday. But now he will have to postpone his decision by some months considering that no home fixtures are planned yet except for the friendly in Luxembourg and the EURO 2004 qualifier against Israel in Turkey.
• After holding Slovenia to a goalless draw, Malta's Under 21 side will be hoping to score its first goal and secure more points as they host Cyprus at the Hibernians Ground, kick-off at 18:30.
  When Miller named his 18-man squad, he was forced to leave Mauro Brincat out. On the other hand, Antoine Zahra is part of the squad after recovering from an injury.
  The squad is made up of:
  goalkeepers Justin Haber (Birkirkara), Reuben Gauci (Floriana);
  defenders Lee Lombardi (Pietà), Clifton Ciantar (Floriana), Shaun Tellus (Balzan), Kurt Farrugia (Marsaxlokk), Jerryton Agius (Balzan);
  midfielders Gareth Sciberras (Pietà), Clifton Cassar (Floriana), Roderick Bajada (Hamrun), Roderick Briffa (Birkirkara), Kevin Sammut (Sliema), Kurt Zammit (Valletta), Shaun Bajada (Floriana), Jonathan Bondin (Valletta) and
  forwards Antoine Zahra (Hibernians), Nicolò Baldacchino and Trevor Cilia (Floriana).
  Match officials for the game are referee Merab Malagouradze, assistant referees Guram Chigogidze and Lasha Silagava and fourth official Levan Paniashvili, all from the FA of Georgia.

Mon 2

• The 2003-2004 calendar of the Malta Football Association was also approved during a meeting of the Council on Thursday. The Premier League will kick off on August 22 and comes to an end on May 9. The draws for the National Leagues will be held on July 8.
  As usual, the first competition of the season will be the Lowenbrau Cup which will be held between August 4 and August 8. Taking part in this competition will be champions Sliema Wanderers, FA Trophy winners and Premier League runners-up Birkirkara and third-placed Valletta. However if Sliema reach the second qualifying round of the Champions League, their place in the Lowenbrau Cup will be taken by Hibernians. The draws for the Lowenbrau Cup will be held on July 24.
  The Super 5 Cup will be held between December 22 and 28. The FA Trophy final will be played on May 20 while the Super Cup final is scheduled for May 23.