Birkirkara present their new signings

Birkirkara FC presented their new signings during a press conference which was held at Teamsport in Iklin.

The club signed Gareth Sciberras from Marsaxlokk and Leighton Grech, who was on loan with Vittoriosa, from Hibernians. New foreigners in the squad include Spanish duo Jorge Mora and Moises Avila Perez and Brazilian defender Rodrigo Frank Pereira. Birkirkara have also offered new deals to Terence Vella, Joseph Zerafa, Rowen Muscat and Paul Fenech. Fenech will be the new captain after the retirement from the Premier League of Michael Galea.

New Birkirkara FC president Joseph Zammit said his role was not an easy one as the club is considered as an established one locally and is the club that has won the most honours in the last ten years. He believes that the Club will continue with this good run of honours and success.

Zammit thanked the other Club administrators for their help and the club members who showed faith in this administrative group with their votes in the last annual general meeting.

The first major challenge for the new committee was the Europa League preliminary round, also in view that last season’s foreigners had all been released so to form a team in such a short period was very challenging and difficult.

Mr Zammit said that the day after they were elected as the new administrators, in a meeting with the Coach it was agreed that the aim was for the team to be more competitive, and that there was the need to strengthen the defence and attack departments as the midfield was already a strong one. However Gareth Sciberras was still signed on, as it was felt that this player can provide more choice and experience to the present choice.

There were also major changes in the technical staff with Patrick Curmi appointed as the new Head Coach, Peter Pullicino as Assistant Coach and Roderick Agius as Goalkeepers’ Coach. Also forming part of the technical staff is Mario Gatt, who is also a committee member.

Coach Patrick Curmi said that joining Birkirkara was an exciting experience for him.

He said that the although the team failed to win the first competition – the Euro Cup, the performance, after just the very first few days of training together, was quite a positive one. The Europa League adventure was another positive one, in terms of performance, although the team failed to qualify for the next round.

Curmi believes the first target should be that of securing a top six finish and then aim higher once this objective is achieved.

Meanwhile McDonalds have renewed the agreement as the club’s main sponsor. Ms. Giorgio on behalf of Mc Donald’s Malta said it was an honour to confirm that the contract with Birkirkara Football Club had been renewed. She said that Mc Donald’s are the main sponsors of one of the top football clubs in Malta while she mentioned the fact the Mc Donald’s have been involved for more than 25 years in the world of football.

The new shirts by Macron were also presented during the same press conference.

Photo: Copyright © domenic aquilina