New national team kits launched

The new Givova kits which the national team will be wearing throughout the 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign were presented during a press conference which was held at the Centenary Hall on Wednesday,

Besides the senior national team, all other Malta national teams will be wearing these kits, designed by Givova, together with the national Futsal team.

Photos: Copyright © Joe Borg

MFA Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Vassallo said that undoubtedly the most attractive clash in this campaign was the game against Italy for which lots of people are looking forward to. He said that ahead of this qualifying campaign, the association worked hard to provide a new image and more visibility for the national team in order to attract more interest from fans and companies who are willing to support the team.

He said football was the most popular sports in Malta and had potential. Therefore the association did whatever possible to make national team games an experience for everyone to enjoy. The aim was to instil the passion for the national team.

Bjorn Vassallo said this was only possible thanks to the support of the sponsors and other partners, namely Platinum Sponsors FXDD, Gold Sponsors Cisk, Kit Sponsors Givova and partners Miles Express, Powerade, Montekristo, Grand Hotel Excelsior and Bortex. He said that the national team did not have any sponsor for a long period of time but now the association managed to attract these sponsors and partners thanks to which these initiatives were made possible.

The MFA CEO said the association did whatever possible to attract more people to Ta’ Qali with a number of initiatives including the launch of the Goal Card which gave fans the opportunity to secure a place for all home qualifiers at an attractive price. He said the idea was to attract fans for all matches and not only the plum fixture against Italy.

Vassallo said that thanks to the agreement with PBS, all national A team home matches and the home Under-21 home matches are being screened live on a free-to-air station so that everyone could watch the team.

He also said that the association’s website is offering a wider platform, including the fanzone and the online store and the Facebook page. He thanked the Head of Marketing Norman Saliba for leading these initiatives.

As regards the new kits, Vassallo thanked Givova owner Giovanni Acanfora and Marketing Director Antonio Mandile and their representatives, the Vella family of Tuttosport. The kits are in fact available for sale from Tuttosport and eventually from the MFA website.

MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo concluded by thanking the South End Core for supporting the national team in home
matches and away from home when possible. He said supporters play a very important role in difficult moments, apart from the fact that following the reform of the MFA Technical Centre, players are being prepared better mentally and physically in order for them to be able to win the respect of opponents.

Other speakers were Fiona Soler from FXDD, Marco Debono from Simonds Farsons Cisk, Sam Borg from Bortex, Firas Aboulezz from Grand Hotel Excelsior, Martin Ferry from Miles Express, Joe Spiteri from Montekristo Beverages, Martin Agius from General Soft Drinks and Giuseppe Ferraro from Starbene.

Photos: Copyright © Joe Borg

Posted in National Team