Malta possesses a pool of talented athletes, but the level of athletics cannot develop unless the culture surrounding sports changes, according to Athletics Malta President, Andy Grech.

Appearing in an interview on Lovin Daily, Grech discussed how the need of full-timers working in sporting organisations is needed in order to help the country develop its athletes to the same high caliber as other small states in Europe.

“Our athletes have the level to take it professionally, but it is not just the athlete that needs help, so do the coaches,” he said.

“The coaches, the clubs and the council all take care of the athlete, but we’re just volunteers,” he continued. “If we have more time to spend on athletics, then I am sure we can improve”.

Currently, Athletics Malta is composed of volunteers who dedicate their spare time creating opportunities for local athletes to compete domestically and abroad. The issue, however, is that the lack of full-time staff means Malta is falling behind when compared to other similar sporting nations. 

“Athletics Malta is just maintaining, not developing and that is what other countries which are similar to us in size (Cyprus, Iceland) are doing,” Grech continued. “They’re developing and you can see the massive, massive achievements they’re getting. We have fallen behind because we’re just sort of care-taking and maintaining what we have”.

Despite working on a voluntary basis, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Athletics Malta has managed to send several contingents overseas this year to compete at international meets, including most recently at the Agropoli Athletics in Italy where Jeremy Zammit broke a number of national records on his way to claiming the number one spot in Europe for U18 long jumps.

“You reach a level where you’re the best in Malta but you can never improve. We need to be exposed to international events, not only us travelling there but foreigners coming here,” Grech continued. 

“It’s a different environment when you’re looking at different people, when it’s a new run-up and different blocks. The athlete becomes more complete, more holistic,” he said.

In two year’s time, Malta will be hosting the prestigious Games of the Small States of Europe (GSS) with Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino sending their best athletes over for a ‘mini-Olympics’ style event here on the island.

“The GSS is where Malta showcases its very best athletes. We’re taking it very, very seriously,” Grech said. “We have put together an event team, where we have different coaches specified on different events. For example, all jumpers will train together so that we can build on each other, our problems and our improvements.”

More imminently, and perhaps more importantly, is the Summer Olympics being held this summer. Malta plans to send a handful of athletes over to Tokyo, but one stands out in particular.

“Unfortunately Malta doesn’t have the qualifying standard to go yet. We’re very close with Jordan Gusman. He is our biggest chance, but he needs to qualify,” Grech said.

“If he doesn’t qualify, we are given wild cards. We have a male and a female and these can compete. Unfortunately, male and female wild cards are only for track.”

In order for Malta to reach a standard where it is consistently producing athletes who are able to compete at the pinnacle of world sports, the island needs to reorganise and re-evaluate its human resources, its infrastructure, its funding and its culture where sports becomes a priority and not a second thought.

“Is the Maltese culture ready for sports professionals? Are we ready to take sports seriously? Can we make a living out of it? No. But these are all long-term objectives done through a 10 or 20-year plan. It’s not just done with the snap of your fingers,” Grech ended.

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