Sat 4

• Qormi secured the services of two Valletta players - Massimo Grima and Jonathan Bondin.
  Grima will therefore extend his stay at the club for another season after playing an important role in the club's feat of retaining Premier League status.
  A product of Pietà Hotspurs, the thirty-year old midfielder made his Premier League debut for the Hotspurs in season 1996/97. He then moved to Sliema Wanderers in 1998 where he spent four-and-a-half years. Grima joined Valletta mid-way through season 2003/04 but spent the last eighteen months on loan, first with Mosta in Division 1 and then Qormi last season.
  Bondin is a Valletta product who made his first appearance in the Premier League in season 1998/99. The 26-year old defender has always played for the Citizens but spent the last six months on loan with Hamrun Spartans.

Fri 3

• The Beach Soccer tournaments in the Coca-Cola Zero Beach Series 2009 enter the final phase with the semi-finals being played on Saturday and the finals for both the men's and women's tournaments scheduled for Sunday.
  In the quarter-finals, Group B runners-up African Stars defeated Group A winners Fairbet Hamrun 6-5 on penalties while Group B winners New Team FC defeated Calypso Music TV, who finished second in Group A, 4-2. Group C winners Wiggles beat Group D runners-up Sao Paolo 4-2 while Maximuscle - winners of Group D - beat Group C runners-up Outsiders 6-3.
  In the first semi-final on Saturday, African Stars face Wiggles, kick-off at 18:00, while at 19:00, New Team take on Maximuscle.

Thu 2

• UEFA Europa League Valletta vs Keflavik 3-0, Slaven Koprivnica vs Birkirkara 1-0
• Malta Futsal champions White Eagles were drawn in Group E in the preliminary round of the 2009/10 UEFA Futsal Cup. The draws were held in Nyon on Thursday.
  White Eagles will be facing Nautara Kaunas of Lithuania, KF Tirana of Albania and FC Madriu of Andorra. Nautara Kaunas will be hosting the tournament which will be played between August 15 and 23.
  The winner of Group E will then play in Group 2 of the main round of the competition together with FK Era-Pack Chrudim (Czech Republic), Hurtapu Leczyca (Poland) and the winners of Group C.
• The Club Management Seminar conducted over two days by FIFA lecturer Jorge S. Baptista on Sunday 28th and Monday 29th June at the Centenary Hall, was concluded successfully, with around 35 club administrators from MFA member clubs gaining invaluable experience in the various aspects of modern club management.
  After an insight was given by Mr Baptista on basic requirements for running a club, followed by an exposition of the subject dealing with the transition from a purely amateur to a semi-professional administration, there were questions from the participants followed by discussions on the topics. Those present were then divided into workshop groups, after which each unit representing the Premier/First Division, the Second and the Third Division clubs made very useful presentations which included suggestions for improving their 'modus operandi'.
  Communication with all stakeholders turned out to be another interesting and useful topic. The subject was thoroughly dealt with as the association/clubs relations with the media was comprehensively looked into when a general discussion ensued.
  The activity, held under the auspices of FIFA, was an excellent opportunity for local clubs administrators to continue developing their skills in club management and this in the wake of the course the MFA has been conducting for these personnel in recent months on the initiative of the Association's Committee for Administrators.
  The event was introduced and concluded by MFA Senior Vice-President Carmel Bartolo and co-ordinated by Louis Micallef, the association’s Assistant General Secretary (Administration).
• The Beach Soccer tournaments in the Coca-Cola Zero Beach Series 2009 enter the final phase with the final group matches being played on Wednesday and Thursday. This will be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals which will be played during the weekend.
  Wednesday's results: Stuzzico Beach Boys vs Fairbet Hamrun 1-8; Wiggles vs Outsiders 4-2; Jungles vs Sao Paolo FC 0-3; Napoli vs Wiggles 0-1; African Stars vs Export Lions 6-2; Maximuscle vs Jungles
  Thursday's results: Calypso Music TV vs Radio 101 3-0
  Napoli vs Outsiders 0-3; New Team FC vs African Stars 2-1; Export Lions vs Demons FC 2-3; Maximuscle vs Sao Paolo FC 5-4; Maximuscle vs Jungles 3-0
  Fairbet Hamrun won Group A with nine points, three ahead of Calypso Music TV. Stuzzico Beach Boys placed third with three points and Radio 101 fourth with no points. In Group B, New Team FC emerged as winners with 9 points, followed by African Stars on 6, Demons FC on 3 and Export Lions 0.
  Wiggles and Outsiders ended their commitments with nine points each in Group C. Wiggles, however, place first thanks to a better goal difference. Napoli placed third in the group. Meanwhile Maximuscle won Group D with maximum points from four matches, ahead of Sao Paolo FC with 6 and Jungles with no points.
  The quarter-finals will be held on Friday with the following fixtures:
  17:00 FAIRBET HAMRUN v AFRICAN STARS; 17:45 NEW TEAM FC v CALYPSO MUSIC TV; 18:30 WIGGLES v SAO PAOLO FC; 19:15 MAXIMUSCLE v OUTSIDERS

Wed 1

• Valletta will be hosting Keflavik of Iceland in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday, kick-off at 17:30.
  In the 70s, Maltese teams like Sliema Wanderers and Hibernians had managed to eliminate teams from Iceland, namely Akranes and Fram Reykjavik but the situation changed in recent years when Hibernians and Birkirkara were eliminated by IB Vestmannaeyjar in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 and by KR Reykjavik in the UEFA Champions League in 2000 respectively.
  This game is therefore no easy task for the Citizens. After missing out on the Premier League title and the FA Trophy, Valletta are eager to bounce back. Following the signing of new Dutch coach Ton Caanen, two Dutch players were welcomed on board - Jordi Cruyff and Geert den Ouden. The latest addition is Under-21 international Steve Borg who joined the club from Division 1 side Mosta.
  Geert den Ouden and Steve Borg are both available for Thursday's game and therefore Ton Caanen has all the players at his disposal since there are no injured players.
  Speaking on Wednesday, the Dutch coach said that he would like to see his team playing positive football. Caanen said he was satisfied with how they played in the Euro Cup.
  He admitted that the fact that the league in Iceland is well underway puts Keflavik at an advantage but "in football, you always have a chance. If we fight, we have a chance. We have to make our best to show we are well-prepared," said Ton Caanen.
  Keflavik have already played ten league matches so far and are currently fourth with 18 points following a 1-1 draw with UMF Grindavik on Sunday. Like Valletta, they placed second last season, one point behind champions FH Hafnarfjördur.
  Keflavík are based in the town of Reykjanesbaer in Iceland. They won the championship four times - 1964, 1969, 1971 and 1973 - and the Icelandic Cup another four times - 1975, 1997, 2004, 2006. They played in all the major European competitions, the European Cup, the UEFA Cup, the Cup Winners´ Cup and the Intertoto Cup.
  Keflavík played their first game in Europe 1965 after winning the title the previous year. They were drawn against Hungarian side Ferencváros in the European Cup. The Hungarians won 9-1 and 4-1 for a 13-2 aggregate win. In the early 70s, Keflavík were lucky to be drawn against some of the top European teams including Everton in 1970, Tottenham Hotspur in 1971 and Real Madrid in 1972.
  In season 1979/80, they eliminated Swedish side Kalmar FF in the first round of the UEFA Cup. They lost 2-1 in Sweden but qualified on the away goals rule after winning 1-0 at home. They repeated the same success in season 2005/06 where they reached the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup after eliminating Etzella Ettelbrück of Luxembourg, beating them with a 6-0 aggregate score.
  The second leg will be played on Thursday 9. The winner of the clash between Valletta and Keflavik will meet Irish side St. Patrick's Athletic in the second qualifying round.
• Birkirkara face a most difficult task on Thursday as they face Croatian side NK Slaven Koprivnica in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round at the Stadion Gradski in Koprivnica, kick-off at 19:00.
  This summer the Stripes lost Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza who joined Sliema Wanderers. They released four of their foreign players, namely Bulgarian trio Ivailo Sokolov, Krasen Valkov and Kiril Mihaylov and Italian defender Mauro Di Lello. New coach Paul Zammit took over last week in the last game of the Euro Cup. A tournament in which they suffered three defeats to Sliema Wanderers, Valletta and Hibernians.
  To make matters worse, the Stripes could not count on Danish defender Ronni Hartvig who is unavailable for these two matches. The only new players should be foreign players. In fact, last week, four Serbian players turned out for Birkirkara, namely Nemanja Kokanovic, Davor Vidosavljevic, Peter Pavlovic and Nikola Vukanac. They also hope Sylvano Comvalius would be eligible to make it for the game.
  NK Slaven Koprivnica, better known as Slaven Belupo, already met Maltese clubs twice. They met Hibernians in the first round of the Intertoto Cup in 2004. The Paolites won the first leg at the Hibs Ground 2-1 but then Slaven won 3-0 at home to move on to the next round on a 4-2 aggregate score. Last year, they eliminated Marsaxlokk from the UEFA Cup with an 8-0 aggregate score beating them 4-0, both at home and away.
  Slaven gained their first promotion to the Prva HNL in 1997 and have been playing in the top Croatian league ever since. In their first Intertoto Cup appearance, they managed to reach the third round of the competition before being eliminated by Czech club SK Sigma Olomouc. One year later, they repeated the success and were only stopped by Aston Villa with a 3-2 aggregate defeat. In their next two Intertoto Cup appearances, they were even more successful as they reached the semifinals of the competition on both occasions, only to be eliminated after losing to Stuttgart and Lille respectively. Their last Intertoto Cup appearance in 2005 ended in the third round with a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Spanish club Deportivo La Coruña.
  In 2007/08, Slaven reached the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, beating Albanian side KS Teuta Durrës 8-4 on aggregate before being eliminated after a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Turkish club Galatasaray. After beating Marsaxlokk last year, they went on to reach the first round of the UEFA Cup as they eliminated Greek side Aris Thessaloniki from the second qualifying round on a 2-1 aggregate score. In the first round, they were beaten with a 3-1 aggregate score by CSKA Moscow.
  Last season, Slaven Belupo placed fourth in the league with 55 points from 33 matches.
  The second leg will be held at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday 9. The winner of the clash between Slaven Koprivnica and Birkirkara will face FK Milano of Macedonia with the latter hosting the first leg.
• Valletta presented their latest two signings - Geert den Ouden and Steve Borg - during a press conference at the club premises in Valletta on Wednesday.
  Thirty-two year old Geert den Ouden is a highly experienced player, having played for a number of clubs in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie - the Dutch Premier and First Division and later in Sweden. He started his career with Excelsior in season 1998/1999 and after three years, he moved to RBC Roosendaal. In 2003, he joined Djurgardens in the Swedish top division. In season 2004/05 he returned to Holland where he played for Den Haag for two years. den Ouden then spent one year with Willem II, another with Excelsior and last year with De Graafschap.
  On the other hand, twenty-one year old Steve Borg is a Mosta product and has been a key player in the team for the past years after making his Premier League debut in season 2005/06 when he was still a seventeen-year old. Borg, who played for all youth national teams - Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21, has been attracting the interest of other Premier League clubs including Sliema Wanderers and Birkirkara.
  Club president Victor Sciriha said it was an honour for Valletta to have a player like Geert den Ouden. He said that such players help to improve the level of the game in Malta and that he believes that he would turn out to be a very valid asset for the Citizens this season. As regards Steve Borg, Sciriha said that he believes the club did a very good choice in signing him. He thanked Nicky Saliba for playing an important role in his signing.
  Valletta coach Ton Caanen started by thanking president Victor Sciriha and team manager Nicky Saliba for doing a good job in strengthening the team.
  Caanen said that den Ouden is one of the top ten strikers in the Netherlands and is well-known in Sweden, describing him as a player "who was born and lived in the box." He said the Dutch striker has the necessary experience and is able to handle pressure as games in European competitions bring about.
  The Dutch coach said that with the arrival of Geert den Ouden, he can opt for any of two or three different systems in attack.
  He also suggested that being a top professional player, den Ouden could also be used in youth development in order to inspire young players.
  As regards Steve Borg, Ton Caanen said that when the Under-21 international was playing for Malta in Ukraine last month, he was told by two friends of him that one of his main characteristics was that of being able to read the game well.
  Caanen said that the fact that Steve Borg opted to join Valletta shows a lot about his character as he is determined and not afraid to challenge for a place in the team.
  Asked why he opted to move to Malta, Geert den Ouden said that two weeks ago, he had spoken to Ton Caanen who seemed very enthusiastic about the club. He said that he had decided to leave his former club and the fact that besides Ton Caanen, Valletta had already signed Jordi Cruyff, made him choose the Citizens.
  On the other hand, Steve Borg said that Valletta were actually the last team to approach him. He admitted that at one point, he was not sure whether to opt for Sliema or Valletta as both were teams which were due to challenge for the title. However he said that the Citizens showed greater determination and after speaking to coach Ton Caanen, he opted to sign a five-year contract with the Citizens.
  Valletta team-manager Nicky Saliba said the move for Steve Borg arrived at such a late stage as they wanted a replacement for Josef Mifsud who joined Sliema Wanderers. Saliba revealed that the deal was agreed in just two hours.
  Ton Caanen said the club was not expected to sign more new players although he said that considering the performance of some of the Valletta players while playing for the national team in Sweden, he would not be surprised if there was some offer from abroad for Valletta players.
  The Dutch coach admitted he will be on the look-out for young talented players and said he will start creating profiles of such players who are currently with other clubs in order to be prepared to sign them in future if the need arises.