Malta Should Make It Mandatory For Every Child To Attend A Sports Club, Labour MP Proposes
Labour MP Jean Claude Micallef has proposed making it mandatory for every child to join a sports club as a means of improving fitness and wellness in the country.
“Just like it’s mandatory for parents to send their children to school, with fines if they refuse, we must look at enrolment of five to 15-year-olds at sports clubs,” Micallef said in a parliamentary speech last Wednesday.
“This will help create a new economy that we’re crying out for, help our children become more competitive, athletic, and fit and give a guarantee of sustainability. Those are also the magic years when it comes to choosing talent ahead of progress to elite sport.”
Micallef also called for a small tax to be levied on high-fat foods, with proceeds going directly to the sports industry.
“This will make sports must sustainable while discouraging a lifestyle that can lead to illnesses and conditions,” he said. “That’s how we can promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy food.
Meanwhile, he proposed allocating a percentage of revenue from sportsbooks towards sports, therefore ensuring the gaming industry can serve as a pillar for the sporting sector.
“Through these measures, along with a dedicated budget, we can move towards a political direction that will help build the sporting sector, as well as a culture of excellence through which our children will adopt a more active lifestyle and become disciplined enough to refuse harmful things.”
“I’d feel as though I’d have failed in Parliament if we stick with the current reality whereby it’s easier to get a PhD than to choose what to eat and find time for physical exercise.”
Do you agree with this proposal?
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