The 10th UEFA Grassroots Programme was held in Oslo, Norway between the 8th and 12th April 2013.

Malta was one of the 53 member associations and was represented by Maria Mifsud, MFA Deputy General Secretary (Grassroots, Youth Development & Education), and Joe Micallef, General Secretary of the Youth FA and an MFA Executive Committee member.

During a meeting of the Council of the Malta Football Association, MFA President Norman Darmanin Demajo referred to Referee Observer Reports received by UEFA following Franco Cachia’s exceptional performances in the Futsal European Qualifying Group Matches held in Turkey.

In this tournament, FIFA Futsal Referee Franco Cachia officiated with the world’s best ranked referee Fernando Gutierrez Lumbreras from Spain and obtained outstanding marks as follows: an 8.4 in Turkey vs Slovenia, an 8.6 in Slovenia vs Ukraine and an 8.5 in Ukraine vs Turkey 8.5. The first two matches were described as “Quite Challenging” by the UEFA Observer and the third match was described as “Normal”.

Elite Referee Trustin Farrugia Cann and Elite Assistant Referee Albert Borg Cardona this week will officiate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Preliminary Round Group A mini-tournament to be played on home soil.

The teams taking part with hosts Malta will be Albania, Luxembourg and Latvia.

UEFA has appointed FIFA Referee Esther Azzopardi Farrugia to officiate in the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship 2013 Second Qualifying Round Group 3 mini-tournament to be played in Scotland from the 4th to 9th April.

The teams taking part with hosts Scotland will be Denmark, Ukraine and Austria.

As in recent years, Maltese officials were invited to attend the annual FIFA / UEFA Refereeing Assistance Programme (RAP) courses, this time in the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus.

Referees’ Fitness Coach Ronald Zammit, and Senior Referee Instructors Adrian D. Casha and Gaetano De Gabriele, attended two such specialised and intensive four-day courses together with representatives from the other 52 UEFA member associations.