Sports are starting to be taken a bit more seriously in Malta after the Planning Authority gave the green light for upgrades to the University Sports Complex in Tal-Qroqq.

Young Maltese athletes will be pleased to find out that more is being done to invest in their future as plans have been approved to construct a new Institute of Physical Education and Sport (IPES), which will replace the existing Alumni Gymnasium.

The IPES will include six squash courts, showers and ancillary facilities, a multi-purpose sports hall, lecture rooms, research laboratories and offices.

In addition, a new spectator’s stand will be built which will accommodate 600 seated spectators on the lower level and another 416 on the upper level.

There will also be an indoor running track, showers, two performance laboratories and rehabilitation treatment rooms which will be located under the new stands.

But perhaps the most exciting development for University students is the incorporation of a large underground car park.

It seems like a viable solution has finally been drafted to solve the issue of university parking with a total of 1023 parking spaces being built over two levels. The new car park was submitted under a separate application which also includes the refurbishment of the existing football ground together with the inclusion of a new eight-lane track, built to international standards.

Phase 2 of the upgrading project will also see the construction of two new basketball courts, a volleyball court, and two additional tennis courts.

These developments come in light of a new sports strategy launched by the government earlier this year which will see up to €30 million invested in new sports facilities over a 10-year period.

The future seems bright for Maltese athletes who are receiving a much-needed boost in terms of funding which, according to a Eurostat report, was below the European Union average when it comes to sports and recreation.