Photos from Malta Olympic Committee 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat pledged today to take Malta to the next level in sports, describing himself as a sore loser who is sick of seeing the country’s athletes constantly falling short.

“I don’t have much of an Olympic spirit in me,” Muscat told a political rally in Marsa. “Participating is all well and good but it’s not enough. You participate to win, and I’m sick of hearing phrases like ‘We played well but we lost again’ or the famous ‘We put in a brave performance’. The time has come to truly make sports part of Maltese culture.” 

Parliament will tomorrow debate a law intended to clamp down on sports corruption, which Muscat warned is ruining some sports and putting people off participating in them. Afterwards, the government will convene with the Malta Olympics Committee, sports federations and sports NGOs to identify the possibilities Malta has in excelling in sports. The benchmark will be the national water polo team, which recently qualified for its second successive Euro Championship. 

Joseph Muscat starts speaking about sports at 29:34 in the clip 

“Malta will be hosting the Small Nations Games in five years’ time, and we need a national strategy in place to ensure we don’t just participate but actually win awards,” Muscat said. “The government has money to invest in sports but we will not just throw money into building new facilities, but will speak with stakeholders to identify the types of training and programmes youths need to excel. I’ll make it very clear – we will only hand out money to sports federations if they set out clear visions, complete with financial plans and benchmarks that can be established. If they do so, then we will find money for them. After all, the surplus isn’t only there for the economy but to boost our national pride, even with regards sport.”

Do you think Malta can start excelling in sports? 

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]