June 2006

Thu 29

• Hibernians striker Andrew Cohen established a new record by becoming the first player to win the MFA Footballer of the Year award for two years in succession.
  Cohen managed to claim the award after beating narrowly Birkirkara captain Michael Galea. After the voting by the board, Galea was leading by two points - Galea on 56 points and Cohen on 54.
  The number of points obtained were then revised as points are awarded for Premier League, FA Trophy and national team appearances and other points will be deducted for yellow and red cards received. The number of matches played for the national team made the whole difference as Cohen took part in all national team matches while Michael Galea is not part of the squad. Therefore Cohen placed first with 45.75 points and Michael Galea second with 44.35.
  Ivan Woods (Sliema) placed third with 38.80 followed by Etienne Barbara (Birkirkara) 37.20 and Branko Nisevic (Valletta) 36.90.
  Mark Tanti (St. Patrick) won the Best First Division Player award with 44.54 points ahead of Christian Calleja (Mqabba); Gilbert Martin (Marsa); Floyd Farrugia (Tarxien) and Darren Grech (Senglea).
  In the Best Second Division Player award, Melita's Michael Martin emerged as the winner with 44.89 points ahead of Antoine Sacco (Balzan); William Borg (Mellieha); Ivan Cassar (Dingli) and Melvin Farrugia (Zebbug).
  Jonathan Bezzina (Rabat) won the Best Third Division Player award with 46.62. Michael Abdilla (Zurrieq) placed second, Noel Tabone (Birzebbuga) third, David Azzopardi (Pembroke) fourth and Liam Mangion (fifth).
  Edmond Agius of Hibernians won the Best Youth Player award ahead of Dylan Zarb (Valletta) and Tyrone Farrugia (Msida). The Msida midfielder was at a disadvantage as he only played for the national youth teams - Under-17 and Under-19 but did not play in the Youth League. Ian Zammit (Valletta) and Christian Caruana (Floriana) placed fourth and fifth respectively after being nominated by the board despite them not playing in the Youth League.
  Marisa Deguara (Mosta) won the Best Woman Player award ahead of Dorianne Theuma (Hibernians); Natasha Pace (Melita); Rebecca D'Agostino (Melita) and Sharon Costantino (Sta. Venera).
  Darko Strinisa (Hibs) was voted Best Futsal Player.
  Top Scorers:
  Premier League - 1. Michael Galea (Birkirkara) 19 goals; 2. Daniel Nwoke (Msida) and Ivan Woods 16 goals.
  First Division - 1. Chima Dozie (Naxxar) 15 goals; 2. Mark Tanti (St. Patrick) 11 goals; 3. Gilbert Martin (Marsa) 10 goals.
  Second Division - 1. Antoine Sacco (Balzan) 19 goals; 2. Ibrahim Tarik (Mellieha) 16 goals; 3. Matthew Borg I (Melita) and Johann Zammit (Qormi) 13 goals.
  Third Division - 1. Adam Smeir (Rabat) 18 goals; 2. Neville Farrugia (Birzebbuga) 13 goals; 3. Josef Micallef (Siggiewi) 12 goals.
  Women's League - 1. Dorianne Theuma (Hibs) 30 goals; 2. Ylenia Carabott (Hibs) 29 goals; 3. Stephania Farrugia (Birkirkara) 20 goals.
• Pietà Hotspurs appointed Italian coach Davide Vittorio as the new coach. He will be replacing Georgi Deanov.
  Vittorio coached Pontedera, Lancianese and Aglianese in the Serie D and was part of the youth sector of Catania. He arrives in Malta through football agent Alfio San Filippo.
  The Italian coach will be assisted by Alfred Cutajar, who is now in his seventh year with the Hotspurs.
  The Hotspurs will begin their pre-season training next. Bulgarian Martin Deanov and Svetlan Kondev will be staying with Pietà while Romanian defender Filip Marius will be replaced by Italian defender Angelo Tasca.
  A product of Palermo, Tasca played for Modica in the Serie C2 last season after playing for Catania, Savoia, Igea Virtus, Paternò and Ragusa.
• A 5-a-Side Football Tournament will be organised on Saturday 15th July in order to raise much needed funds for Razzett Tal-Hbiberija.
  Ir-Razzett Tal Hbiberija is a charitable organisation helping people with physical disabilities.
  The tournament will be held on July 15th, kick-off at 19:00. The event should be over by 23:30.
  There will be prizes for the Winners and the Runners-Up.
  Participation fee is Lm30 per team and each team can register a maximum of 10 Players.
  Those interested in participating should contact the organiser on 99408183 or sharkyj@maltanet.net.
• The Valletta FC Nursery, under the technical direction of Paul Zammit and Head-Coach Anton Cremona, will be receiving applications for coaching staff and helpers for season 2006/2007.
  Those interested should apply at the Salinos Ground between Friday June 30th and Wednesday July 5th between 17:30 and 20:00.
  The application form could also be obtained from the club's official website www.vallettafcofficial.net
  More details could be obtained from the secretary of the Valletta FC Nursery on 79224674.
• After the successful season in which they won the championship, the Nadur Youngsters Under-12 side will be taking part in the prestigious Gothia Cup.
  There will be something like 1500 teams from all over the world taking part in various categories. Nadur will participate in the Under 12 category. The tournament will be held between the 16th and 22nd July.
  The team will leave Malta on July 14th and returns on the 24th. Apart from participating in the wonderful game of football, it will also be a cultural and a joyful experience for the future players of Nadur Youngsters.
  Nadur will proudly represent Malta in the opening ceremony in front of over 45 thousand spectators.
• Gudja United have recently elected a new committee as the team prepares to kick-off its second season in the Second Division.
  Last year, Gudja managed to reach their main objected despite a very inconsistent season. This coming season, the club will be aiming at improve last year's seventh place and also secure our Second Division status much earlier than the last match.
  The new committee was introduced to all players on the 22nd of June, where players and committee members discussed the knotty situation our club is currently facing.
  The resignation of George Caruana from president came as a surprise. He has now been replaced by Gordon Grech.
  Wistin Mangion and Charles Zammit are the vice-presidents while Clifford Mangion, George Caruana and James Piscopo will be acting as secretary, assistant secretary and treasurer respectively.

Wed 28

• Season 2006/2007 kicks-off on Monday with the Euro Challenge Cup - the triangular tournament reserved for the three teams taking part in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. On Monday, BOV Premier League champions Birkirkara will be taking on holders Sliema Wanderers.
  U*BET FA Trophy winners Hibernians will be in action on Wednesday as they take on the losers of the first game. In case of a draw between Birkirkara and Sliema, Hibs will face Birkirkara.
  The third game will be between Hibs and the winners of the first game or Sliema, in case of a draw in the first game.
  Matches will be played at the National Stadium on July 3, 5 and 7.
  Monday and Friday's matches will be played at 20:00 while Wednesday's game will be played at 18:00 due to the FIFA World Cup semi-final in programme on Wednesday.
• A 5-a-Side Football Tournament will be organised on Saturday 15th July in order to raise much needed funds for Razzett Tal-Hbiberija.
  Ir-Razzett Tal Hbiberija is a charitable organisation helping people with physical disabilities.
  The tournament will be held on July 15th, kick-off at 19:00. The event should be over by 23:30.
  There will be prizes for the Winners and the Runners-Up.
  Participation fee is Lm30 per team and each team can register a maximum of 10 Players.
  Those interested in participating should contact the organiser on 99408183 or sharkyj@maltanet.net.
• After losing goalkeeper David Simon and releasing Precious Monye and Emil Yantchev, Birkirkara will be having three new foreign players ahead of their UEFA Champions League commitments and the BOV Premier League 2006/07 campaign.
  The club is expected to give a trial to five players before making a final choice.
  One is Senegalese defender Pascal Mendy. Mendy, who holds a French passport, played for Vittoria in the Italian Serie C2 after playing for Bellinzona in Switzerland.
  Italian goalkeeper Marco Taddonio was the fourth goalkeeper at Milan a couple of seasons ago behind Dida, Christian Abbiati and Valerio Fiori. He is 22 years old.
  On the other hand, Ermanno Leoni, a product of Brescia, is a 25-year old defender. After leaving Brescia, he played for Sassuolo in the Serie C2, Palazzuolo in the Serie C2 and Rodengo Saiano in the Serie D.
  These three players could make their debut for the Stripes in the Euro Challenge Cup game against Sliema Wanderers on Monday.

Mon 26

• Futsal League champions Hibernians will be taking for the first time in the UEFA Futsal Cup - the futsal equivalent of the Champions League.
  This was confirmed by UEFA as the forty teams which will be taking part in the competition were revealed.
  Besides Malta, clubs from Austria, Germany, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland are all fielding representatives in the UEFA Futsal Cup for the first time.
  The 2006/07 edition - the sixth edition of the competition will be the biggest yet. It also promises to be more exciting than ever as the semi-finals and final will be played under the 'final four' format, as seen in other indoor sports like basketball, in one venue next April. The competition will begin with the preliminary and main round draws on 6 July at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
  The preliminary round in mid-September will feature 16 sides drawn into four mini-tournament groups. Hibernians will be playing in one of the four mini-tournaments will be staged by FK Nafta Mažeikiai (Lithuania), Granvalira F.C. Encamp (Andorra), FC Mladost Sofia (Bulgaria) and the Scottish entrants, to be confirmed in August.
  The sixteen teams in the Preliminary round are FK Nafta Mažeikiai (Lithuania), Futsal Mad Max (Finland), Granvalira F.C. Encamp (Andorra), FC Mladost Sofia (Bulgaria), Parnassos Nicosia (Cyprus), Toligma Chisinau (Moldova), KF Tirana (Albania), Adana Yerevan (Armenia), Doncaster College (England), Roubaix Futsal (France), USC Eugendorf (Austria), Uni Futsal Club Münster (Germany), Hibernians, Skövde AIK (Sweden), Uni Futsal Bulle (Switzerland) and a team from Scotland.
  The top team from each pool will join 20 others in October's main round, with the clubs split into six groups of four.
  After winning the Futsal League First Division Section A this season, Hibernians won the Championship Play-Offs after beating last season's champions Serbia 8-6.

Sun 25

• UEFA Intertoto Cup Marsaxlokk vs Zrinjski 1-1
• FIFA has reduced the punishment it imposed on Turkey for their part in the fracas at a World Cup play-off match with Switzerland last November but the EURO 2008 qualifier against Malta will still be played at a neutral venue.
  Last February, Turkey were ordered to play their next six home matches at a neutral ground and behind closed doors. This sanction has now been reduced to three games.
  A FIFA statement did however warn that Turkey's original punishment would be restored, if further incidents occur during their next three matches.
  Turkey won the match 4-2, but Switzerland advanced to the finals in Germany on away goals. The result sparked scuffles between players and coaching staff in the tunnel and Switzerland's Benjamin Huggel and Turkey's Alpay Ozalan and Emre Belozoglu were all banned for six games for their part in the incident.
  Emre and Huggel will now be suspended from their national teams' next four competitive matches instead of six.
  The original sanctions remain in effect against two other Turkish players - defender Ozalan Alpay and midfielder Serkan Balci - and Turkish assistant coach Mehmet Ozdilek and Swiss physio Stephan Meyer.
  The game against Malta on September 6 must be played in a UEFA-affiliated country at least 500km from the Turkish border.

Fri 23

• Champions Birkirkara were drawn against the champions of the Faroe Islands B36 Torshavn in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League as they are one of eleven seeded teams. A good draw for the Maltese side as the Stripes aim to reach the second round.
  Should Birkirkara qualify, their opponents in the second qualifying round are Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
  The draw for the first two qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League were held at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Friday.
  The first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will be played on July 11/12 and 18/19, with the first leg being played at Ta' Qali.
  This will be the first time two clubs from Malta and the Faroe Islands are facing each other.
  B36 won the Premier League in the Faroe Islands last year with 54 points from 27 matches, four points ahead of Skála, HB and NSI who all ended second on level points. In the current Premier league campaign, B36 are currently fifth with 23 points from 13 matches.
  This will be the eighth adventure for B36 in the main UEFA competitions. They first took part in the Cup Winners' Cup 1992 when they were eliminated by Avenir Beggen of Luxembourg on a 2-1 aggregate.
  Their best performance was in the UEFA Cup last year when they managed to eliminate IBV Vestmannaeyjar of Iceland following a 1-1 draw away from home and a 2-1 win in Tornshavn. In the second qualifying round, B36 were eliminated by FC Midtjylland of Denmark following a 2-1 defeat away from home and a 2-2 draw in Tornshavn.
  B36 took part twice in the Champions League qualifiers, losing out to Beitar Jerusalem of Israel on a 5-1 aggregate in 1998 and to Torpedo Kutaisi of Georgia on a 6-2 aggregate in 2002.
  On the other hand, Birkirkara have been participating regularly in UEFA competitions since 1997, taking part in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round in July 2000, losing out to KR Reykjavik 2-6 on aggregate.
  They took part in the UEFA Cup eight times, qualifying for a second round in 2001 when they eliminated FC Lokomotiv Tbilisi of Georgia.
• Hibernians and Sliema Wanderers were set a difficult task following the draw of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup as they were paired with Dinamo Bucharest and Rapid Bucharest respectively.
  Hibs will be playing the first leg at home while Sliema will play the first leg in the Romanian capital. The first leg will be played on July 13, the second on July 27.
  This will not be the first visit to Malta for both teams. Rapid Bucharest met Valletta in the UEFA Cup qualifying round in 1994 winning with a 7-3 aggregate score. Dinamo Bucharest met Sliema Wanderers in the Champions Cup first round in 1964 beating them 7-0 on aggregate.
  AFC Rapid Bucuresti placed second in the league, five points behind champions FC Steaua and three ahead of FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti. Rapid won the Romanian Cup after beating National Bucuresti 1-0 after extra-time.
  The draw for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup was held at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Friday.
  The 70 clubs have been split into three geographical seeding groups - Northern, Southern-Mediterranean and Central-East. The 35 winners of these matches, to be played over two legs on 13 and 27 July, will progress to the second qualifying round where they will be joined by a further 29 sides, including the eleven UEFA Intertoto Cup winners.
  Hibernians' opponents are FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti.
  Dinamo's best performance in Europe was in season 1989/90 when they managed to reach the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup. They eliminated Dinamo Tirana, Panathinaikos and Partizan Belgrade, losing to Anderlecht in the semi-finals.
  Last season, they reached the group stage in the UEFA Cup. After beating Omonia Nicosia in the second qualifying round - the same team which had eliminated Hibernians in the previous round, Dinamo Bucharest humiliated Everton beating them 5-1 in Bucharest, moving on to the group stage on a 5-2 aggregate. In the group stage, they lost to Levski Sofia and Olympique Marseille away from home, beating CSKA Moscow 1-0 in Bucharest.
  Dinamo have a record of 55 wins and 22 draws in 142 matches played in Europe. They won the domestic championship seventeen times and the cup twelve times.
  Hibernians took part in the UEFA Cup nine times. Last year, Hibs suffered two 3-0 defeats to Omonia Nicosia.
  They qualified twice for a further round eliminating Fram Reykjavik (Iceland) in the Cup winners' Cup 1971/72 and Shelbourne (Ireland) in the UEFA Champions League 2002/03. In Europe, Hibs have a record of eight wins and seven draws in 56 matches.
  AFC Rapid Bucuresti are Sliema's opponents.
  Last season, Rapid had a most successful campaign in Europe when they reached the quarter-finals of the competition. After eliminating Sant Julia (Andorra) and Vardar Skopje (Macedonia) in the qualifying rounds, they managed to beat Feyenoord on a 2-1 aggregate in the first round to reach the group stage. They qualified from a group which included VfB Stuttgart, PAOK Thessaloniki and Shakhtar Donestsk.
  In the next two rounds, they eliminated two German teams - Hertha BSC with a 3-0 aggregate score and Hamburger SV on the away-goals rule following a 3-3 draw. In the quarter-finals, they were elimined by neighbours Steaua Bucuresti on the away goals rule following a 1-1 draw at home and a goalless draw away from home.
  Rapid's record in Europe is 31 wins and 15 draws out of 70 matches played in European competitions. They won the championship three times and the cup twelve times.
  This will be the fifteenth participation in the UEFA Cup for Sliema, the last time being in 2002.
  The Wanderers managed to reach a second round on four occasions - Cup Winners Cup 1968/69 eliminating Rumelange (Luxembourg), Champions Cup 1971/72 eliminating IA Akranes (Iceland), UEFA Cup 1996-97 eliminating Margveti Zestaphoni (Georgia) and Champions League 2003-04 eliminating Skonto Riga (Latvia). In Europe, Sliema have a record of twelve wins and three draws in 72 matches.
• Michael Galea and Andrew Cohen are leading the way in the race to win the MFA Footballer of the Year Award after the two players.
  Following a voting session which was held earlier this week, Michael Galea obtained 56 votes, followed by Andrew Cohen - last season's Footballer of the Year on 54 votes, Etienne Barbara 41 votes, Branko Nisevic and Ivan Woods both on 37 points.
  The number of points obtained will be revised as points will be awarded for Premier League, FA Trophy and national team appearance and other points will be deducted for yellow and red cards received.
  The winner of the award will be revealed during the next meeting of the Council of the Malta Football Association which will be held on Thursday.
• Sta. Venera Lightnings F.C. have elected their new committee for the next season following an annual general meeting held on Sunday 11th June 2006.
  Mr. Colin Calleja was elected as the new President of the Club, while Mr. Alfred Scerri is the Club Secretary and Mr. Rene Briffa is the Club Treasurer. The newly-elected committee has already started its work for the new season with the main target being to continue improving on the success achieved during the last season.
  Sta. Venera Lightnings F.C. have confirmed their coach Mr. Alfred Attard for the following season after he guided the team to promotion to Division 2.
  Mr. Attard is due to address the club's players during a players' meeting to be held on Sunday 9th July 2006, and commence the pre season training sessions on Monday 10th July 2006.

Thu 22

• Champions Birkirkara can hope for a good draw in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League as they are one of eleven seeded teams. This gives the Maltese champions a good chance of reaching the second round of the competition.
  The pairings for the first two qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League will be made during a ceremony to be staged at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Friday starting at 12.00 CET.
  With a ranking of 1.880, Birkirkara are one of the eleven teams which are seeded, namely NK Gorica (Slovenia), Myllykosken Pallo-47 (Finland), Apollon Limassol FC (Cyprus), NK Široki Brijeg (Bosnia-Herzegovina), FH Hafnarfjördur (Iceland), FHK Liepajas Metalurgs (Latvia), FC Sheriff (Moldova), FC Sioni Bolnisi (Georgia), FK Ekranas (Lithuania) and FK Rabotnicki (FK Macedonia).
  The unseeded teams, and hence possible opponents for Birkirkara, are FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (Belarus), Cork City FC (Ireland), KS Elbasani (Albania), FC Pyunik (Armenia), FC TVMK Tallinn (Estonia), Linfield FC (Northern Ireland), The New Saints FC (Wales), FK Baku (Azerbaijan), F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg), B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands) and FK Aktobe (Kazakhstan).
  Birkirkara have been participating regularly in UEFA competitions since 1997, taking part in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round in July 2000, losing out to KR Reykjavik 2-6 on aggregate.
  They took part in the UEFA Cup eight times, qualifying for a second round in 2001 when they eliminated FC Lokomotiv Tbilisi of Georgia.
  The first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will be played on July 12 and 19.
• BOV Premier League runners-up Sliema Wanderers and U*BET FA Trophy winners Hibernians are most likely to travel east this summer as almost all the seeded teams in the Southern-Mediterranean region in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round draw are from Eastern Europe.
  The pairings for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup will be made during a ceremony to be staged at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Friday starting at 13.30 CET.
  The 70 clubs have been split into three geographical seeding groups - Northern, Southern-Mediterranean and Central-East. Teams from the same country cannot be drawn together. The 35 winners of these matches, to be played over two legs on 13 and 27 July, will progress to the second qualifying round where they will be joined by a further 29 sides, including the eleven UEFA Intertoto Cup winners.
  Among the teams are Romanian cup winners and league runners-up AFC Rapid Bucuresti and third-placed FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti; Bulgarian cup winners and league runners-up PFC CSKA Sofia, third-placed PFC Litex Lovech and fourth-placed PFC Lokomotiv Sofia; Croatian cup winners and league runners-up HNK Rijeka and third-placed NK Varteks; Cypriot cup winners APOEL FC; Slovenian runners-up NK Domzale and Bosnian runners-up FK Sarajevo. The only team not from Eastern Europe is KSV Roeselare of Belgium who qualified thanks to one of the Fair Play slots.
  The unseeded teams, together with Hibs and Sliema, are AC Omonia (Cyprus), NK Koper (Slovenia), NK Orasje (Bosnia-Herzegovina), FK Makedonija GP Skopje and FK Vardar (FYR Macedonia), FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein), KF Tirana and KS Dinamo Tirana (Albania), FC Rànger's (Andorra) and S.S. Murata (San Marino).
  This will be the fifteenth participation in the UEFA Cup for Sliema, the last time being in 2002.
  The Wanderers managed to reach a second round on four occasions - Cup Winners Cup 1968/69 eliminating Rumelange (Luxembourg), Champions Cup 1971/72 eliminating IA Akranes (Iceland), UEFA Cup 1996-97 eliminating Margveti Zestaphoni (Georgia) and Champions League 2003-04 eliminating Skonto Riga (Latvia). In Europe, Sliema have a record of twelve wins and three draws in 72 matches.
  On the other hand, Hibernians took part in the UEFA Cup nine times. Last year, Hibs suffered two 3-0 defeats to Omonia Nicosia.
  They qualified twice for a further round eliminating Fram Reykjavik (Iceland) in the Cup winners' Cup 1971/72 and Shelbourne (Ireland) in the UEFA Champions League 2002/03. In Europe, Hibs have a record of eight wins and seven draws in 56 matches.

Wed 21

• Msida St. Joseph have announced the appointment of Patrick Curmi as their new coach for the coming season 2006/07. Curmi replaces Todor Raykov who guided the Saints to a creditable sixth place last season.
  Aged 46, Curmi coached Lija Athletic, Pietà Hotspurs, Marsa and Hamrun Spartans and for the last three years, he was the Head Coach of Pieta Hotspurs. With the Pietà youths, he had a most positive experience, winning the Youth League Section A last season.
  Curmi is said to be "looking forward for this new adventure and waiting for a positive season."
  Pre-season for Msida players will start at the first week of July. Curmi's assistant coach is expected to be a foreigner from Italian club Serie A.
• The Malta Football Association has appointed Czech coach Michal Striz as the first ever coach of the Malta national futsal team. The news was revealed by CzechFutsal.cz on Tuesday.
  Striz was the head coach of the Czech national futsal team between 1998 and 2005 and for seven years between 1998 and 2004, he was voted as the best futsal coach in the Czech Republic.
  Under his guidance, the Czech Republic placed third in the UEFA European Futsal Championship in 2003 in Caserta, Italy.
  On club level, he coached Plumbum Hradec Kralove, Viktoria Zizkov and Nejzbach Vysoke Myto in the Czech Republic and Doukas Athene in Greece.
  As a player Striz won the Czech Futsal Championship 1988 with Saturn Brno and won the Best Player award in the Czech Republic in 1994 He played 26 matches for the national team scoring 16 goals.
  The Malta Football Association is planning to have the national futsal team taking part in the next edition of the UEFA European Futsal Championship.
• Newly established BOV Third Division team, Mdina Knights FC has elected nine committee members during the club's Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 10th June at Corte Capitanale, Mdina. The elected committee was subsequently assembled on Tuesday 13th June 2006.
  The following Official positions were assigned: President - Eman Pulis; Vice-President - Sean Buhagiar; Secretary - Keith Galea; Treasurer - Matthew Paris.
  Mr. Gilbert Camilleri was appointed as the Official Public Relations Officer of the club while the task of Team Manager was assigned to Mr. Joseph Spiteri. Finally Mr. Martin Attard was assigned the post of Team Co-ordinator.
  The Club appointed Mr. Eric Schembri as Technical Director, who is in the process of setting up the squad.
  Club President, Mr. Eman Pulis, stated that the Official Corporate Partner of Mdina Knights FC will be Keith & Co. Creations. The committee would also like to thank Collis Williams and the Local Council of Mdina for their support. Other sponsorships and details will be announced shortly. The club would also like to thank all the members for their support, mirrored in the high attendance for the club's General Meeting.
• With the World Cup fever reaching its highest peak just a few days before, Classics FC will be offering all those football fanatics the opportunity to reduce their beer belly when it organises the first ever Classics Summer Tournament on Saturday, July 15th, 2006.
  The one-day tournament will be held at the University 5-a-side grounds, and will kick of at 14:00.
  Ten teams will be participating in the tournament. In the first phase, the teams will be split in two groups of five, meaning that each team will have a minimum of four games.
  The length of the matches will be 25 minutes each, with the exception of the semi-finals and finals which will be 30 minutes long and for which the top two teams from each group will qualify.
  Custom-made artisan trophies will be given to each member of the winning team – who will also be getting a Lm50 cash prize – and to the runners-up of the tournament. Another trophy will be given to the tournament top-scorer.
  The participation fee for the tournament is Lm30 per team and has to be submitted together with the application form by Friday, June 30th, 2006.
  For more information, visit www.classicsfc.org. Alternatively, you can send an email to info@classicsfc.org or contact one of the organisers on 99467484 or 79410583.
  The Classics Summer Tournament is supported by Citadel Insurance plc and Teamsport.

Tue 20

• The Gozo Football Association organized the Annual Presentation Gala Dinner on Saturday 16th June. During this gala dinner, all Individual and Club Honors were presented.
  An address from Mr. Felix Apap President Gozo Football Youth Football Association opened the night. He emphasized on the importance and role Nurseries have in the future of football on the Island of Gozo. Mr. Carmelo Bartolo Vice President Malta Football Association and Mr. Franco De Gabriele Head of Sales and Marketing Melita Cable plc. also addressed those present. Mr. De Gabriele was representing the Melita Digital as official sponsor of the Gozo Football Association.
  Hon. Giovanna Debono also addressed the guests. Hon. Debono congratulated the Association and her Clubs for the achievements reached during the past season and showed her appreciation towards all those involved for the dedication in the work done. Mrs. Debono said that the past year will be remembered as the year in which practically all Gozitan Clubs had installed an artificial turf pitch in their locality or entered into an agreement to be installed.
  Mr. Joe Cordina President of the Gozo Football Association gave a clear picture of the achievements acquired in the past season. Mr. Cordina emphasized that so much work had been carried out by the contribution of many people and showed his appreciation to all those involved in the game of football in Gozo. Mr. Cordina said that only with the participation of all those involved can offered the best training and facilities to our youngsters in a safe and healthy environment.
  The Clubs' and Individual honors were then presented as follows:
  Gozo F.A. Player of the Year - Alexander Simoncic (Nadur Youngsters)
  Gozo F.A. Gozitan Player of the Year - Anthony Portelli (Nadur Youngsters)
  Foreigner Player of the Year - Alfred Effiong (Kercem Ajax)
  Second Division Player of the Year - Joseph Scerri (Qala St. Joseph)
  Under-19 Player of the Year - Simon Gatt (S.K.V.W.)
  Under-16 Player of the Year - Ryan Grech (Victoria Hotspurs)
  Under-14 Player of the Year - Mario Vella (Xewkija Tigers)
  Under-12 Player of the Year - Jonathan Said (Nadur Youngsters)
  Top Scorer OnVol First Division - Ricardo Saverino (Sannat Lions)
  Top Scorer Sprite Second Division - Ishaku Umoru (Qala St. Joseph)
  Dione Lautier (Oratory Youths)
  Most Promising Player First Division - Frank Paul Azzopardi (Nadur Youngsters)
  Most Promising Player Second Division - Anthony Briffa (Victoria Hotspurs)
  Official of the Season - Charlie Farrugia
  Good Conduct Cup - Ghajnsielem
  OnVol 1 Division League: Champions - Nadur Youngsters; Runners Up - Kercem Ajax
  Gozo F.A. Cup: Winners - Kercem Ajax; Finalists - Ghajnsielem
  Independence Cup: Winners - Nadur Youngsters; Finalists - Kercem Ajax
  Freedom Day Cup: Winners - Ghajnsielem; Finalists - Xewkija Tigers
  B.O.V. Super Cup: Winners - Kercem Ajax; Finalists - Xewkija Tigers
  Sprite II Division League: Champions - Qala St. Joseph; Runners Up - Victoria Hotspurs
  II Division K/O: Winners - Qala St. Joseph; Finalists - St. Lawrence Spurs
  Under-19 League: Champions - SK Victoria Wanderers; Runners Up - Victoria Hotspurs
  Pepsi Under-16 League: Champions - Victoria Hotspurs; Runners Up - Nadur Youngsters
  B.O.V. Cup Under-16: Winners - Nadur Youngsters; Finalists - Kercem Ajax
  Joe Portelli Projects Cup Under-16: Winners - Xaghra United; Finalists - SK Victoria Wanderers
  APS Bank Under-14 League: Champions - Xewkija Tigers; Runners Up - Ghajnsielem
  HSBC KO Under-14: Winners - Xewkija Tigers; Finalists - S.K. Victoria Wanderers
  Maltacom KO Under-14: Winners - Kercem Ajax; Finalists - Xewkija Tigers
  Coca Cola Under-12 League: Champions - Nadur Youngsters; Runners Up - Oratory Youths

Mon 19

• Andrew Cohen signed a five-year contract with Hibernians therefore squashing any rumours that he could leave the club.
  The Malta international striker was reportedly attracting the interest of Sliema Wanderers.
  A product of Hibernians, the 25-year old striker, made his debut for the Paolites in season 1999/2000. His contract expired at the end of the season.

Sat 17

• UEFA Intertoto Cup Zrinjski vs Marsaxlokk 3-0
• Newly-promoted Marsa have confirmed Michael Molzahn as coach as they prepare for next season's BOV Premier League campaign.
  The German coach, formerly an assistant of Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia with the Malta Under-21 side, had joined Marsa in season 2004/2005 leading the Red-Blues to a fifth place.
  This season, Marsa placed second, two points behind champions St. George's.
• Newly-promoted Marsa have confirmed Michael Molzahn as coach as they prepare for next season's BOV Premier League campaign.
  The German coach, formerly an assistant of Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia with the Malta Under-21 side, had joined Marsa in season 2004/2005 leading the Red-Blues to a fifth place.
  This season, Marsa placed second, two points behind champions St. George's.
• Minister Censu Galea was confirmed as president of Third Division side Sirens following last week's Annual General Meeting.
  The club's vice-presidents are Carmel Agius and Joe Grech. Martin Xuereb and Joseph Agius hold the posts of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer respectively.
  The other members of the committee are: Lino Camilleri (assistant secretary, ground and kit manager), Paul Fenech (assistant treasurer), Francis Farrugia (P.R.O.) and Paul Deguara.

Thu 15

• Marsaxlokk will be facing NK Zrinjski in the first leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup first round at the Gradski Stadium in Mostar this evening, kick-off at 19:00.
  This will be the second adventure for the Southseasiders in Europe after taking part in the UEFA Cup in 2004 when they met NK Primorje of Slovenia in the qualifying round. Primorje registered a 1-0 at Ta' Qali, before beating Marsaxlokk 2-0 at home. On that occasion, Marsaxlokk had qualified for the UEFA Cup after ending as losing finalists in the FA Trophy
  This time, Marsaxlokk will be taking part in the Intertoto Cup after placing third in the BOV Premier League - the best placing ever for the Southseasiders.
  They had started the season under the guidance of Atanas Marinov but the Bulgarian coach was then replaced by Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia as technical director and Oliver Spiteri as coach.
  A series of positive results in the Premier League second round and then in the Championship Pool enabled the Southseasiders to place third, just one point behind runners-up Sliema.
  Against NK Zrinjski, the team will be led by Oliver Spiteri although Englishman Brian Talbot has been confirmed as Marsaxlokk coach for the coming season.
  Since the end of last month, the team lost Portugese defender Nuno Gomes and Brazilian striker Wendell Gomes but David Camilleri and Daniel Bogdanovic returned with the club after being on loan with Hibernians and Sliema respectively.
  NK Zrinjski placed third in the Premijer Liga of Bosnia-Hercegovina with 54 points from thirty matches - nine points behind champions Siroki Brijeg and six behind runners-up Sarajevo.
  Speaking ahead of this game, their coach is Blaz Sliskovic, who is also the coach of the national team of Bosnia-Herzegovina, said "We want to get through our first two games in this competition and prepare well in order to win the league title again."
  In fact the Premijer Liga championship in season 2004/2005 was the best achievement ever for the club.
  However in the Champions League first qualifying round last year, they disappointed as they were eliminated by F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg losing 4-1 on aggregate. Zrinjski won the first leg 1-0 away from home but in Mostar, Dudelange forced extra-time leading 1-0 at the end of the 90 minutes. In extra-time, Dudelange scored three times to reach the second qualifying round.
  The second leg will be played on Sunday 25 at the Hibs Ground.
  The winner of the clash between Marsaxlokk and NK Zrinjski will be meeting Maccabi Petach-Tikva of Israel in the second round of the competition, with the first leg being played in Israel on July 1/2 and the second leg being played on July 8/9.

Tue 13

• The Annual General Meeting of First Division champions St. George's was held on Sunday.
  President Mr Chris Agius MP and secretary Mr Michael Cutajar retained their posts as they were uncontested.
  A new face in the committee is that of Mr Bessam El-Ani who will be one to the two vice-presidents together with Mr Anthony Amaira. Mr Carmelo Grech was elected as treasurer.
  The other members of the committee are: Mr Deo McKay (assistant secretary), Mr Joseph Micallef (assistant treasurer), Mr Edgar Degabriele (Liason Officer/Players), Mr Aaron Darmanin, Mr Assuero Micallef and Mr Joseph Lautier (kit-managers), Mr Ray Mifsud, Mr Eugenio Delceppo and Mr Mario Caruana (Ground Management), Mr Darren Scicluna and Mr Clyde Agius (members in charge of supporters club).
  The team will be coached once again by Marco Gerada.
• The Valletta FC Nursery will be accepting applications to fill the posts of Coaching Staff and Helpers for season 2006/2007.
  Applicants are kindly required to collect an application form from the Salinos Ground as from Monday 5th June between 17:30 and 20:00 hrs. Applications should be received by latest 18th June, 2006.
  An application form can also be obtained from the club's official website www.vallettafcofficial.net
  More details can be obtained from the secretary by phoning 79224674.

Sun 11

• The committee of Valletta FC for season 2006/07 was elected on Sunday morning during the continuation of the club's Annual General Meeting.
  No election was necessary as there was the exact number of nominations for the ten posts.
  Charles Camilleri was confirmed as president with Paul Spiteri, Anton Abela and Mario Muscat retaining the other top posts as Executive Vice-President, General Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
• The Urban Jungle White Warriors Tournament was held recently at the Valletta Salinos Grounds.
  No less than seventeen teams took part in the first edition of the two-day tournament. Since teams were allowed to register one MFA Premier League and one MFA 1st Division player, quite a few well-known players from such competition took part.
  In the final, the youngsters from Valletta, White Boys managed to defeat the Magpies on penalties.
  Kurt Maxi Magro (White Boys), Saviour Darmanin (Corma Salinos Bar) and Adam Smeir (Magpies) won the Best Player, Best Goalkeeper and the Top Scorer Awards respectively.
• Season 2005/06 for the Youth Football Association came to an end on Sunday with the finals of the Vodafone Under-14 and the Vodafone Under-16 Knock-Outs.
  In the final of the Vodafone Under-16 Knock-Out, Sliema Wanderers defeated Pietà Hotspurs 3-0.
  The Hotspurs had won the Under-16 APS Bank League Section A. Valletta, Tarxien Rainbows and Mosta were relegated to Section B. On the other hand, St. Patrick won Section B and were promoted together with St. Andrews and Qormi. Fgura United won Section C and were promoted together with Marsaxlokk, Sirens and Naxxar Lions.
  Paola Hibs won the Under-14 Vodafone Knock-Out after defeating San Gwann 2-0 in the final.
  The Paolites also won the Under-14 APS Bank League Section A. Tarxien Rainbows, Sta. Venera United and Mellieha were relegated to Section B. Section B winners San Gwann, St. Patrick and Rabat Depiro were promoted to Section A. Kirkop United, Attard, Zebbug Rangers and Marsaxlokk were promoted to Section B.
• Around 180 children took part in the Gudja United Youth Nursery End of Season Festivals.
  Mosta won the Under-13 Festival organized by the Gudja YN last week. Six teams took part in the festival which was held over a period of three days. St.Venera ended runners up after loosing the final 1-0.
  Gudja were eliminated from the competition in the semi-finals.
  Meanwhile on Saturday, four teams - Gudja, Fgura, Kirkop and Lija/Iklin - took part in the Under-8 Festival.
• Gudja Youth Nursery is currently accepting applications for qualified coaches for season 2006/07.
  Interested coaches must submit their application, together with a detailed C.V., either to Pamela Schembri, Twilight, Triq it-Tempesta, Qrendi ZRQ 07 or by e-mail to gudjayouthnursery@yahoo.co.uk

Sat 10

• Malta international striker Michael Mifsud is being investigated by police in Norway after the player allegedly received a packet containing doping substances from Germany. But in a statement, Lillestrom say this could be the result of a sabotage as he knew nothing about it.
  Norwegian online magazines Romerikes Blad and VG Nett carried various reports on the matter over the past few days after the former Sliema Wanderers striker was questioned by police over a packet containing doping substances sent to Mifsud's address from Germany which was confiscated by customs authorities.
  Michael Mifsud denies knowing anything about this packet.
  Club president Per Mathisen said they believed Mifsud's version of facts. Lillestrom believe that this could be a sabotage meant to disrupt the positive atmosphere surrounding the team and the player. They are currently second in the Norwegian Tippeligaen.
  The last time Mifsud was tested for doping was after the 2-2 draw with Stabaek on May 21. The Malta international striker had tested negative.
• Kirkop United will be organising a 5-a-side tournament as part of the club's 50th anniversary celebrations.
  The tournament kicks-off on July 10th and will be played at the synthetic pitch at the St. Benedict College.
  Prizes include trophies, medals and cash prizes. The winners will claim a Lm 100 cash prize and trophies, the runners-up win Lm 50 plus trophies while the third-placed will be receiving a Lm 25 cash prize and medals.

Fri 9

• Msida St. Joseph FC, yesterday on the 7th of June held its Annual General Meeting in which current Vice-President Edward Calleja has been installed as the new Acting President. Keith Abela-Wadge and Robert Farrugia where confirmed as General Secretary and Financial Director respectively in the Executive Committee.
  Meanwhile in the Administrative Committee, Alan Abela-Wadge, Martin Micallef, Charles Debono, Paul Magro where confirmed again as committee members while there are six new faces this year in the committee that are: Saviour Darmanin, Silvio Camilleri, Tony Cauchi, Malcolm Dimech, Stephen Lovegrove and Twanny Cassar.
  Meanwhile outgoing President Dr Kevin Deguara was unanimously appointed as the Club’s Honorary President. The club wishes to publically thank Dr Deguara for all the good work he has done for this club and wishes him a happy life both professionally and personally.
• Twanny Mercieca was confirmed as Marsa FC president following the club's annual general meeting which was held on Wednesday.
  Mr. Ray Bonnici was elected Honorary Treasurer. The Club will appoint a new Honorary Secretary on Tuesday during its first Committee meeting.
  During the same meeting, Mr. Michael Molzahn is expected to be confirmed for the third consecutive season as the Marsa FC coach.

Thu 8

• In the Annual General Meeting of Marsaxlokk FC, members approved changes to the club’s statute and elected the new committee.
  The Marsaxlokk FC committee is now composed of 6 persons who have been elected for 3 years.
  Mark Sciriha was confirmed as President while Peter Hartshorne and Victor Sciriha are the new vice-presidents. Hermann Schiavone is the club's secretary and Gillian Sciriha was confirmed as treasurer. The other member in the committee is Thomas Zahra.
  Marsaxlokk are currently preparing to take part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup where they will be facing Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first leg will be played in Mostar on June 17 with the return leg being played a week later.
  With new coach Brian Talbot being unable to guide the team for these matches, training is in the hands of Oliver Spiteri.
  Marsaxlokk will be strengthened with the return of David Camilleri and Daniel Bogdanovic, who were on loan with Hibernians and Sliema Wanderers respectively, while Brazilian midfielder Andre Rocha Da Silva will be one of the club's foreigners.
  Meanwhile The Marsaxlokk FC committee is accepting offers for the lease of the bar at the club’s premises, which must be sent by post by not later than Wednesday 28th June and must be addressed to Hermann Schiavone, Marsaxlokk FC secretary, 6, Zejtun Road, Marsaxlokk.

Wed 7

• Women's World Cup Malta vs Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1
  The Malta women's national team, under the guidance of coach Pierre Brincat, obtained its first ever positive result in a competitive match following a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in the final match from Group 6 of the qualifying round for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007 at the Hibs Ground on Wednesday.
  A positive result which confirmed the progress shown by the girls in recent matches especially the two close defeats to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia away from home in March and the 1-3 defeat to Slovenia last month.
  It was Dorianne Theuma who managed to put Malta ahead on 23 minutes but the visitors managed to equalise fifteen minutes from time thanks to substitute Tamara Skrbic, even if they had Mersiha Asceric sent off on 58 minutes.
• Champions Birkirkara claimed six of the awards at stake in the fifth edition of the Melita Digital Malta Football Awards which was held at the Corinthia Palace Hotel, Attard on Wednesday.
  Two of these were won by Nigerian defender Precious Monye, who claimed the award for the Best Defender and the award for the Best Foreigner.
  George Mallia and Micheal Galea won the awards for the Best Midfielder and the Best Forward respectively while Etienne Barbara was voted Best Maltese Player. Birkirkara coach Stephen Azzopardi was voted Best Coach after placing second in the previous three editions.
  Sliema Wanderers goalkeeper Murphy Akanji was voted Best Goalkeeper while Udo Nwoko won the award for the Best Goal of the Season.
  Dyson Falzon of Mosta won the award for the Most Promising Player while Stefan Sultana claimed the award for the Best Veteran Player.
  Sliema Wanderers midfielder Roderick Bajada won the award for the Best Player according to the general public.
  Marsa striker Gilbert Martin won the award for the Best First Division Player.
  Malta national team captain Rebecca D'Agostino, who plays for Melita, claimed the award for the Best Female Player.
  Elton Vella of Kercem Ajax was voted Best Player in the Onvol GFA First Division while John Campbell of Hibernians won the award for the Best Player in the Futsal First Division.
  Former national team coach Karm Borg and Assistent Commissioner Josie Brincat were presented with Special Awards.
• The HSBC indoor soccer tournament will start on Thursday 6th July 2006 and will take place at the Gozo Sports Complex.
  This will be the ninth edition of the tournament organised by S.K. Victoria Wanderers.
  More than twenty teams and over two hundred Gozitan players will be taking part in what has become the most popular tournament in Gozo.
  All those interested in taking part car either download the application together with the conditions by clicking here or can pick an application from Aurora or one of the S.K. Victoria Wanderers committee members.
  There will be Lm325 in cash prices together with 7 trophies and medals for all players of the first four teams. One can hand the application either to one of the committee members, Bargate Bookshop or at Aurora by not later then the Sunday 1st July 2006.

Tue 6

• Premier School of Football has recently organised another educational seminar for all the boys attending the school and their parents. The meeting, which once again was very well attended, treated the subject of “Sports Injuries in Youths – Prevention and Treatment”.
  Dr David Attard, Malta Football Association’s chief medical doctor and an expert in the field was invited to deliver a presentation and answer questions about the subject. The talk, which lasted for about an hour and proved to be very interesting, delved on what to do to prevent injury and how to deal with it when it happens. Dr Attard also explained the differences that exist between various types of injuries, such as common injuries (strains and sprains), overuse injuries, growth plate injuries and injuries during growth.
  At the end of Dr Attard’s lecture, the school’s organisers took the opportunity to present their main speaker with a memento to thank him for his participation and for the sterling work he carries out with great dedication.
  The meeting ended with the school’s usual presentation of the most improved players’ award for the months of February and March.
• A 5-a-side tournament will be held in Swatar on July 14th, kick-off at 19:00.
  Sixteen teams will be taking part in the tournament.
  There are cash prizes, trophies and medals to be won. The winners will be receiving Lm 70 and trophies while the runners-up will claim a Lm 35 cash prize and medals. The registration fee is Lm 35 for each team.
  Those interested in taking part in the tournament can obtain more details by phoning 99450286 or 79899270. The closing date is July 7th.
  The Swatar 5-a-side Football Tournament is supported by Autofactors Malta Ltd and Sports Experience.
• The MFA Technical Centre notifies that the Instructional Meeting for UEFA 'A', UEFA 'B', MFA 'A' and MFA 'B' coaches due to be held on Monday 12th June 2006, has been cancelled owing to World Cup matches scheduled for that day.

Sun 4

• Malta will be playing Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday 7th June 2006 at the Hibs Ground, Corradino, in a match from Group 6 of the qualifying round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007.
  The team, under the technical assistance of Pierre Brincat, has played to satisfactory levels in recent games and the progress the girls have shown since they made their debut on the international stage is noticeable.
  However, some close defeats, especially away from home, have not done justice to the spirit and commitment the Maltese have infused in their game throughout all their competitive matches.
  On Wednesday, the girls will be eyeing better pastures against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and if they play as well as they did in their last matches a positive result is within their capabilities.
  Malta is in fact yet to register a first positive result. In this campaign, following two 4-1 defeats to Croatia (home) and Slovenia (away), Malta went down narrowly to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, losing both matches 1-0. Last month, Malta lost 1-3 to Slovenia at the Hibs Ground.
  For this game, coach Pierre Brincat and his assistant Alfred Zammit shortlisted 20 players namely
  goalkeepers Sharon Costantino (Sta. Venera), Tonina Dimech (Birkirkara);
  defenders Tessie Agius (Hibs), Maria Azzopardi (Hibs), Mandy Debono (Hibs), Marisa Deguara (Mosta), Leslie Ann Galea (Hibs), Natasha Pace (Melita), Dorianne Theuma (Hibs);
  midfielders Jane Coates (Mosta), Fallon Sammut (Mosta), Rebecca D' Agostino (Melita), Alexia Scicluna (Birkirkara), Ruth Steerchatham (Melita), Dionne Tonna (Hibs) and
  forwards Ylenia Carabott (Hibs), Sarah Jane Caruana (Hibs), Rebecca Chircop (Mosta), Karen Lia (Mosta) and Kathleen Saliba (Hibs).
  The sound mental state of the team should be complemented by solid support from a good crowd which is expected to turn up at the Hibs Ground in Corradino.
  The match will be controlled by Ms C. Bango (FIFA & Austria). Kick-off is at 18.00 and entrance is free.

Fri 2

• The national squad left Malta on Friday morning destination Dusseldorf, Germany, where Dusan Fitzel's side entertains Japan in a friendly match on Sunday at the LTU Arena.
  Fitzel could not take with him the best formation as a number of players are ruled out for some reason or another. Ivan Woods and Peter Pullicino have both undergone surgery. Orosco Anonam, Roderick Briffa and Etienne Barbara are recovering from injuries while Michael Mifsud will be skipping this game due to league commitments with SK Lillestrom.
  From the provisional squad named earlier this week, Fitzel dropped Hibernians defender Adrian Pulis and Valletta midfielder Jonathan Bondin.
  The only uncapped player in the squad is Marsaxlokk's Andre Schembri. For him, this was the first national team call-up.
  The squad includes three foreign-based players - goalkeeper Justin Haber of US Quevilly, Luke Dimech of Chester City and Andrei Agius of Messina.
  Agius was included once again in the national squad after making his debut in the game against Moldova in the Coca-Cola and Multiplus International Tournament in February. Trevor Cilia, who also made his senior debut during the tournament is also part of the squad.
  The eighteen players selected by Fitzel are:
  goalkeepers Justin Haber (Quevilly), Mario Muscat (Hibs);
  defenders Andrei Agius (Messina), Ian Azzopardi (Floriana), Ian Ciantar (Floriana), Luke Dimech (Chester), Brian Said (Sliema), Kenneth Scicluna (Birkirkara), Steve Wellman (Marsaxlokk);
  midfielders Roderick Bajada (Sliema), Trevor Cilia (Floriana), George Mallia (Birkirkara), Claude Mattocks (Valletta), Jamie Pace (Marsaxlokk), Kevin Sammut (Marsaxlokk);
  forwards Gilbert Agius (Valletta), Andrew Cohen (Hibs) and Andre Schembri (Marsaxlokk).
  The game against Malta will be the last one for Japan before it opens its World Cup campaign on June 12 against Australia. Coach Zico has no injury concerns and is set to deploy a 3-5-2 formation with Bolton Wanderers midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and Celtic playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura in midfield and Takashi Fukunishi, Akira Kaji and Brazilian-born Alessandro Santos on the wings.
  Japan lacked a cutting edge in front of goal in their past two friendlies at home against Bulgaria and Scotland and will be counting on Atsushi Yanagisawa, who has just recovered from a broken metatarsal, and German-based Naohiro Takahara to provide the spark in attack.
  The Asian champions gave World Cup hosts Germany a fright when they took a two-goal lead in a friendly on Tuesday but they had to settle for a 2-2 draw after two defensive lapses. A Naohiro Takahara double was cancelled out by goals from Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger following needlessly conceded free kicks around the penalty box.
  The Japanese squad is made up of:
  goalkeepers Yoichi Doi (FC Tokyo), Yoshikatsku Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus Eight);
  defenders Alex Dos Santos (Urawa Reds), Akira Kaji (Gamba Osaka), Yuichi Komano (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Gamba Osaka), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F-Marinos), Teruyuki Moniwa (FC Tokyo), Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa Reds);
  midfielders Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Takashi Fukunishi (Jubilo Iwata), Junichi Inamoto (West Bromwich Albion), Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic), Hidetoshi Nakata (Bolton Wanderers), Koji Nakata (Basel), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Shinji Ono (Urawa Reds) and
  forwards Seiichiro Maki (JEF United), Masashi Oguro (Grenoble), Naohiro Takahara (Hamburg), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus Eight), Atsushi Yanagisawa (Kashima Antlers).
  Japan vs Malta will be played at the LTU Arena on Sunday, kick-off at 15:00. The game will be controlled by referee Knut Kircher (FIFA & German FA)
  The Maltese contingent, led by MFA president Dr Joe Mifsud left Malta on Friday at 08:00 on flight KM 352 and will return on Monday at 21:50 on flight KM 329.
• The Malta Football Association issued another statement with regards to the case of the Pace Grasso Ground which stirred a lot of controversy over the past weeks.
  "The MFA states that for the association, the case is now closed after making sure that such case would not repeat itself.
  The MFA regrets that fact that the public could have been given the impression that between December 2003 when the case actually took place and January 10, 2006 when the Court handed the sentence, the association failed to take immediate action putting minors at risk. The association had never received any reports about the matter during the two-year period.
  When the MFA came to know about the case, the association was not holding any football games for children at Pace Grasso Ground as the only matches being held there were those from the Under-19 League.
  The MFA has been and is sure that students from the Guze D'Amato Secondary School attending PE lessons at the Pace Grasso Ground were always under the continuous supervision of teachers and therefore were never at risk. In fact, there were never any complaints from the school authorities.
  Before May 9th, 2006, the association was not even aware that the person involved was no longer opening the football ground for the use of the school children. In fact for several months, school teachers had the keys and the ground used to be opened by the teachers themselves. Had the association been aware of this important detail, there would have been no need to withdraw the permission for the school children to use the football ground and in fact, as soon as the association came to know about this, students were once again able to make use of the football ground. This also means that school children were never at risk as the person in question was never present.
  The association has been working hard to educate youths through a number of initiatives mainly with regards to the fight against the abuse from drugs and alcohol. Therefore the MFA would definitely not let such work ends up down the drain by failing to do its duty with regards to other aspects for the benefit of children of youths. However the MFA is aware that it should be alert all the time in order to protect youths from any kind of abuse," concludes the statement.
• The Malta Under-18 team returned to Malta from Rome on Friday after competing with credit in the 7th European Tournament for Under-18 Youth and Amateur National Teams.
  The tournament, played in Paestum, Italy, was a useful competitive work-out for our boys who clearly need exposure in the international arena in order to gain more experience.
  Edwin Camilleri, the coach must have been satisfied with his team's performances, especially when beating favourites Italy, represented by their Amateur XI, 6-5 on penalties.
  Although they were beaten 3-1 in the first game against group winners Poland, some positives came out for coach Camilleri, not least his boys' positive play even when they had to battle on for more than half the match with a man less after a player was sent off.
  Hopefully such overseas matches in the future will provide a good platform for further progress by our youth team.

Thu 1

• Sliema Wanderers midfielder Roderick Bajada leads the way in the provisional standings for the Best Player Award according the general public in the fifth edition of the Malta Football Awards.
  During a press conference last month, the organisers of the Malta Football Awards - Events Services, launched this award, sponsored by Powerade, which gives the general public the possibility to vote for the player who they believe was the best player during the season.
  Bajada leads the way ahead of two Birkirkara players - Etienne Barbara and Michael Galea. According to last updated results from Vodafone and Go Mobile, other players obtaining votes include Andrew Cohen, Simon Agius, Gilbert Agius, Dyson Falzon and Brian Said, among others.
  Those willing to vote may send an sms with the name of the player to 506 14 005 up to 15 minutes from the gala event which will be held on Wednesday June 7th. The event will be screened live on the Melita Cable Sports Channel and the Information Channel, which will be open for all clients of Melita Cable.
  The chairperson of the organising committee, Sandro Micallef, said "There is a great expectation for this year's edition of the Malta Football Awards and as usual players, coaches, officials and supporters are eager to know who won the awards in the respective categories."
  Besides the usual categories such as those for the Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, Best Forward, Most Promising Youngster, Best Coach, Best Foreign Player, Best Maltese Player and Best Goal of the Season, new awards are those reserved for the Best First Division Player and the Best Veteran Player aged 36 and over. Other awards are those for the Best Futsal Player, Best Player in Gozo and the Best Player in the Women's League.
  The counting of the voting documents has been completed and the finalists will be announced on Monday 5th June.
• Young Hamrun Spartans goalkeper Michael Falzon was voted BOV Player of the Month for May.
  The Spartans' custodian played his part well in trying to defend his net as his colleagues were subjected to heavy pressure in an effort to salvage their Premier League status when they played their last matches in the Relegation Pool.
  A series of saves in the two matches against Mosta and Pietà Hotspurs, including one from a penalty against Mosta, must have tipped the scales in Falzon's favour when the journalists voted for the best player.
  With such performances, Michael Falzon could easily claim the Number 1 shirt next season as the Spartans will be playing in Division 1.
• Msida St. Joseph announced that 22-year old Nigerian striker Daniel Nwoke, is currently on a two-week trial with Finnish top league leaders Tampere United F.C. The club is currently leading the Finnish top division with 16 points after 7 matches and will be participating in the forthcoming UEFA Intertoto Cup later on this summer.
  Msida SJ vice-president Edward Calleja was informed by an official from Tampere United that Nwoke had left a very positive impact on coach Ari Hjelm and a one-week extension to his trial was requested.
  The past season was successful for Daniel Nwoke who improved his personal goal scoring tally in the Premier League. In fact, the Lagos-born striker was the most prolific hit man, when excluding penalty kicks, for season 2005/2006 with 16 goals.
  In his four years in the Premier League, the past three wearing the red and white colours of Msida St Joseph, Nwoke played 90 matches scoring an astonishing 49 goals with an average of more than 1 goal every 2 matches.
  The Nigerian striker, who signed a two-year extension to his contract with Msida St. Joseph earlier this season, was also voted Footballer of the Year for season 2005-06 by the club.
• The Ultimate 5 a Side Football Tournament is offering you and your team a challenge like no other - testing your skills against other teams and prove yourself to be the Ultimate 5 a side Football Champions as well as claim fantastic prizes.
  The Ultimate 5 a Side Football Challenge will be played in the same format as the World Cup with 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams each. The tournament kicks-off on Monday 10th July and will stretch over a period of four weeks until Friday 4th August.
  Matches will be played at the St. Martin's College in Swatar. All games will be played after 7pm and will be 40 minutes long.
  Prizes shall be awarded to the top four teams and the top scorer.
  The winners will be receiving a cash prize of Lm 300 with each team member receiving a trophy and a race for all the team at Badger Karting. All players of the teams placing second, third and fourth will be receiving a trophy. The tournament top scorer will be receiving a trophy as well.
  Those interested in taking part should contact the organisers on either 99408183 or 79857428. Sports Experience will be giving out special discounts on sports wear to all participating teams.
  Closing date for applications is Friday 30th June.
  The Ultimate 5 a Side Football Challenge is supported by Sports Experience, 89.7 Bay, Badger Raceway, St. Martin's College, Fabric and maltafootball.com