Every Maltese Athlete Who Wins Gold Medal At Small Games Will Also Get €10,000
With Malta set to host the Small Games of Europe this year, the Maltese Olympic Committee has provided an extra incentive for athletes to do their best.
MOC president Julian Pace Bonello made this announcement today as he addressed a media briefing in the run-up to the Games.
“Sport can be a major force for positive change, and I firmly believe that the Games of the Small States of Europe can be a strong force which will leave a long lasting legacy to our island,” he said.
The Games will take place between 29th May and 4th June and will feature ten disciplines – athletics, basketball, judo, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis, and tennis.
Maltese athletes are set to compete against counterparts from eight other small European nations – Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, and San Marino.
At the last Small Games, held in Montenegro in 2019, Maltese athletes won six gold medals, 12 silver medals and nine bronze medals, placing Malta seventh in the medal ranking table.
However, with Malta hosting the Games this year, they will be looking for a stronger performance from its contingent of around 240 athletes, with €5 million allocated towards their training programmes.
Charlene Attard, Director of Sport at the MOC, said the objective is for Malta to achieve its best ever Small Games medal tally.
Meanwhile, €60 million has been allocated to the refurbishment of exiting facilities and the construction of new ones, in line with international standards.
This includes the ongoing construction of an Olympic-sized indoor pool at the Cottonera Sports Complex and refurbishment of the outdoor national pool complex in Gżira. In the coming months, a handball pavilion, a gymnastics centre, a rugby stadium, a tennis, squash and weightlifting centre, an indoor pool in Gozo, and a shooting range are all set to be inaugurated.
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