Malta FA and VisitMalta sign new four‑year deal
The Malta Tourism Authority and the Malta FA signed on Fri‐ day a new four‐year deal that fol‐ lowed a previous agreement that ran for three years, which agree‐ ment enables Visit Malta to be the official partner of the associ‐ ation and our National Teams.
The deal was signed by Malta FA President Bjorn Vassallo, Malta Tourism Authority CEO Carlo Micallef, and Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness, Hon. Clayton Bartolo.
This agreement between the Malta FA and the Malta Tourism Authority will enable the Visit Malta brand to be visible on offi‐ cial National Teams attire through this €1 million invest‐ ment over the next four years.
This new agreement also cov‐ ers the U19’s male and U17’s fe‐ male, therefore an upgrade from the previous three‐year deal which then covered the senior men/women, and the U21 Team.
In his reaction to the four‐year term partnership agreement signed on Friday with the Malta Tourism Authority, the Malta FA President Bjorn Vassallo said that the association is proud that the MTA is once again linking up and extending its collaboration with the Malta FA and the Na‐ tional Teams.
“We are extremely delighted with this collaboration, this is our ultimate objective having the entire country behind us backing us and fully contributing to our National pride.”
Vassallo said that the senior National Teams, men and women, play a minimum of twenty matches every calendar year – at home and abroad, apart from other national selections with tens of other international encounters, including our youth teams, futsal, and beach soccer.
Therefore, he added, there is huge visibility for our partners on a global scale. Football has today become an entertainment event with thousands of follow‐ ers from the football stadiums, through broadcast viewership and also online.
The Malta FA President thanked Hon. Minister Clayton Bartolo and everyone at the Malta Tourism Authority for the excellent relationship nurtured over the years through the vari‐ ous projects delivered together, with the most recent being the UEFA U19 finals organized in Malta last summer which left an impeccable sporting legacy but which has also showcased tremendous exposure of our cul‐ ture, heritage, and traditions through football.
Honourable Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness, Hon. Clayton Bartolo outlined the fact that our geographical size does not preclude us from seizing the opportunity and demonstrating what our Maltese National Football Teams can do when faced with competing with teams that are ranked much higher in European football and beyond.
“Visit Malta is doing its part to strengthen the country’s expo‐ sure abroad through sports tourism while serving as a sup‐ portive platform to the Malta Football Association to further enhance its investment in the athletes of today and tomorrow,” outlined Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness Clayton Bartolo.
MTA CEO Carlo Micallef stressed that through its wide‐ spread activity, both locally and within our shores, the Authority can commend a strong visibility that through the years resulted in a successful return to our tourism industry that we know is fundamental for our local econ‐ omy.
“Sports Tourism is one key niche market that we highly de‐ pend on through tournaments, events, and training camps, all essential for our visibility and what Malta has to offer in terms of our tourism product which is sought by and aligned to what tourists seek in their holiday package".
Micallef added that through prominent and influential agree‐ ments and sponsorships with high‐profile international brands, we enable our Visit Malta brand to be more visible leading to attraction to Malta and more quality tourism. This ap‐ plies to the busy summer months but also to the shoulder period where we always strive harder to generate and increase our traffic numbers of tourists visit‐ ing the island.
“All this makes it easier for us as an entity to extend this con‐ tract agreement with the Malta FA in sustaining all our National Teams both Men and Women, also our contribution to the de‐ velopment of local athletes and their efforts to pull out more fa‐ vorable results on behalf of Malta when competing at the in‐ ternational stage, MTA CEO Carlo Micallef concluded.