The Youth Football Association hosted its Annual Presentation Night at the Palace Hotel in Sliema, where the winners of the various awards were presented with trophies and mementos for their achievements during the 2015/16 season.

The various awards were presented by the Youth FA President, Fr. Hilary Tagliaferro, APS Bank Chief Officer Noel, McCarthy, MFA Officials Bjorn Vassallo, Ludovico Micallef and Alex Manfre and MFA Technical Director, Robert Gatt.

Among the awards presented, the most prestigious were: Hamrun (Under-17) and Pieta (Under-15) both winning the double (APS Bank League – Section A and the Knock-Out competition) in their respective age categories, the Most Promising Player award went to Under-17 – Markus Grima (St. Andrews) and Under-15 – Clyde Bouvet (Pieta) and the fair play winners Kalkara (Under-17) and Floriana (Under-15). As from this year, a new award was introduced as an appreciation to celebrate the sterling service given to the YFA by past members of the council, and the first recipients of the YFA Merit Award were Mr. Joe Cachia, Mr. Godfrey Pecorella and Mr. Frans Zammit for their dedication to grassroots football over the last decades.

During his speech, the Youth FA President said that at the younger ages prominence should be given to educating these youths through sports, ensuring to assist them to improve their football skills through professional training and ultimately provide future players for their parent Clubs and the National Teams. Introducing an educational campaign, aimed at all those involved in youth football, to be rolled out throught the season, Fr. Hilary, together with Mario Cardona (Director – Global Security Services) launched the first project, a set of boards to be set up in all grounds hosting YFA matches with positive, educational and aspiring messages.

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