MTA supports new international football tournament for over 40s

Ten teams from Switzerland, Germany and Malta will be playing between 8 and 12 February to become the winner of the Malta Soccer Trophy 40+. Teams such as VfR Aalen, Old Boys Basel and the national 40+ team from Malta will be competing in this seniors’ football tournament which is being held for the first time with the support of the Malta Tourism Authority.

In addition to the above-mentioned teams, German senior top class teams such as SG Hoechst Classique (three-time German 40+ runner-up), TSV ReinbekHamburg (North German Champion) and VfB Giessen (veteran team consisting of former pros and former fourth and third division players) will also take part. TSV 1880 Wasserburg, SV Lichtenberg 47, DJK SchwabsbergBuch and FSV Hailer complete the tournament line-up.

The draw for the tournament groups took place on 6 December at the Malta Tourism Authority’s office in Frankfurt and resulted in the following groupings:

Group A

VfR Aalen VfB Gießen Old Boys Basel

Group B

Malta Ü-40 Selection TSV 1880 Wasserburg SV Lichtenberg 47 FSV Hailer cups can be found in many European countries as established competitions enriching the football scene.

With the Malta Soccer Trophy 40+, an additional international competition has now been created which the organisers hope will become a Champions League for 40+ players. It gives teams a great opportunity to take part in an interesting, international, well-organised tournament and play outdoors as early as February, when other senior teams in central Europe still play indoors. Moreover, such a football tournament is an ideal preparation for the spring and summer season.

Commenting on the significance of this event, MTA CEO Paul Bugeja stated: “MTA recognises the huge potential for sport tournaments of this kind to be held in Malta and Gozo, particularly in the winter months. Malta is blessed with mild winter weather which makes it an ideal choice for training camps or competitive sport events. This is a very good initiative from our marketing teams in Malta and Germany and is a very innovative way of attracting the German market, which still offers huge potential for Malta. We are looking forward to hosting participants, families and fans at the first edition of this tournament, in the hope that it will become an annual appointment and will continue to grow in the coming years.”