Malta Could Soon Have A Team In Serie C In Plan To Breathe Life Into National Football Team
Malta’s perennial woes on the international stage could soon be addressed through a novel plan, the creation of a Maltese club which will perform in Serie C.
Malta Football Association president Bjorn Vassallo confirmed on the NET TV show Replay that talks are underway with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Pro, the governing body of Serie C, the third tier in Italian football.
“We cannot fall behind and if we want a quick fix to boost our players’ confidence and ensure they are technically, physically and psychologically more prepared, then we have no choice but to improve our professionalism.”
MFA President Bjorn Vassallo
Nothing has been confirmed at this stage, but Vassallo said the potential club will be a new one, not any of the teams competing in the Maltese league. It is also possible that the team will be a satellite club of a larger Italian club, similar to how Juventus under 23s compete in Serie C.
The plan is for at least half of the squad to be Maltese and for the club’s players to train in Malta and play their home games in Malta.
Vassallo said talks are also underway for the creation of a new Maltese youth team based on this model.
“We are studying all our options and we will meet up with Lega Pro and the FIGC next month to explain our ideas to them,” the MFA president said.
Only two players in the Malta national team currently play overseas, defender Zach Muscat for Portguese team S.C. Olhanense and winger Luke Gambin for English League Two side Colchester United. The team is rock bottom of its Euro 2020 qualification group, having recently lost 1-0 to the Faroe Islands.
What do you make of this plan?
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