#UnitedForMalta – MFA, MRFU launch joint-promotion drive

Two national sports associations have come together to jointly promote their activities with a view to strengthening the level of support and the fans’ attachment to their national teams.

#UnitedForMalta is the title of a combined promotion drive by the Malta Football Association and the Malta Rugby Football Union, probably the first of its kind in Maltese sport, which kicked off on Tuesday.

Andrè Schembri and Rowen Muscat, both members of the national football squad, were joined by two rugby internationals, Julian Galea and Matthew Spiteri, for a photo-shoot at the National Stadium.

Donning the national team kits with the Maltese cross conspicuous on the front, our sports ambassadors put on a show of unity and solidarity in a challenging week that will see both the football and rugby teams involved in international matches at home.

The national football team kick off their 2018 commitments with a friendly match against Luxembourg this Thursday at the National Stadium (kick-off 18.00) while the Malta rugby side on Saturday take on Andorra in a Rugby Europe match at the Hibernians Stadium (kick-off 14.00).

Malta FA vice-president Dr Matthew Paris, who played a leading role in discussions between the two associations, is confident that this partnership agreement will reap benefits for both football and rugby.

“The Malta FA is pleased to be part of this initiative with the Malta Rugby Football Union,” Dr Paris said.

“We believe that this partnership can be of mutual benefit to both associations as we are teaming up to promote our national teams which have a very important thing in common... we both strive to represent our nation with honour in international sports.

“We are confident that this initiative will herald the start of a longterm partnership with the MRFU.”

Steve Busuttil, the MRFU President, also expressed his satisfaction at the launch of this initiative.

“This co-operation between the Malta FA and Malta RFU is an initiative that will surely help both our associations to promote Malta’s respective national teams,” the MRFU President said.

“It is encouraging to find other associations who share the same passion for sports and also for the honour that we can bring to our country.

“We look forward to further strengthening this co-operation in the near future for the benefit of both our sporting disciplines.”

Also present for Tuesday’s event was Louis Agius from the South End Core fan group. South End Core have been at the forefront of efforts to boost the level of support for Maltese national teams across different sports in the last few years.