The Capodanno Cup featuring a triangular tournament between Premier League sides Qormi and Valletta and Italian Serie Bwin side Triestina was launched on Wedensday during a press conference which was held at Pintonino Restaurant, Valletta Waterfront.

US Triestina will be visiting Malta between the 27th and 31st December for a training camp at the MFA Training Grounds and then will take part in the triangular on December 30 at the National Stadium.

Triestina Soccer School Malta president Kenneth Vella thanked Valletta and Qormi for accepting the invitation to take part in this triangular tournament. He said that the Italian club had decided to carry out this training camp in Malta a few weeks after the soccer school was set up in Malta. Since then they also gave young Hibernians player Jurgen Degabriele to join them for a trial in Trieste.

Vella said the Italian club is showing clearly that they believe in Malta’s potential. The decision regarding this training camp was taken earlier this month when the club’s youth sector chief Francesco Schiraldi and the team’s physical trainer Luca Bossi visited Malta. They met MFA Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Vassallo and inspected the facilities at Ta’ Qali. They also visited a number of hotels and met Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport Clyde Puli.

Triestina were satisfied with the facilities offered by the association and on behalf of the Italian club, Vella thanked MFA President Norman Darmanin Demajo and MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo for their support.

The contingent arrives in Malta on Monday and will be staying at the Mellieha Bay Hotel. Leading the delegation will be director general Marco Cernaz.

The Triestina squad may include new players who will be on trial with the club.

Triestina Soccer School Malta vice-president Robert Busuttil spoke in detail about the tournament, saying that the tournament will kick-off at 18:30 with the game Qormi vs Valletta. This will be followed by Triestina vs Qormi and then by Valletta vs Triestina. Matches will be 45 minutes long and in case of a draw, penalty-kicks shall decide the issue.

Children attending the Triestina Soccer School Malta will be able to attend the game as ball-boys. School head-coach Peter Pullicino will be joining the US Triestina coaching staff for a number of sessions during their training camp.

Tikets for the tournament will cost €6 while children under the age of 14 will be able to enter for free. Holders of Kartanzjan pay €4.

Valletta FC president Victor Sciriha thanked the organisers for choosing Valletta to participate in the tournament. He said the club was now renowned in taking part in such tournaments following the games against Juventus, the mini-tournament in Ancona and last year’s mini-tournament against Parma. Sciriha said the club was honoured to participate in such events and said the club viewed such participation as giving something back to the local football followers.

Qormi FC vice-president Victor Camilleri said such participation was a novelty for the club. He thanked the organisers and said that such initiatives continue to improve the level of the game in Malta and should be supported because they also attract children to the game.

Supporting the Triestina Soccer School Malta in this initiative are De La Salle College director Bro Martin Borg, Anthony Thorne and Keith Perry. The visit was made possible thanks to the support of a number of sponsors including Powerade, Circo Martin, Easy Gas Malta, Marindex Trophies, Emotions Signs, G7 and Fantinel.