Birkirkara FC presented their new signings during a press conference which was held at Teamsport, Iklin on Friday. The club’s new players are foreigners Nikola Vukanac, Sylvano Comvalius and Jorge Mora together with Under-21 international Carl Pulo.
President Karm Galea thanked his predecessor Victor Zammit under whose guidance Birkirkara won seventeen major honours, including two championships and thirteen successive participations in European competitions. He said that matching his predecessor’s record was a difficult task but said that with a collective effort by the committee members, he will aiming at having Birkirkara retaining its high profile within the Premier League.
Galea said that a stronger effort should be done to increase the number of members in the Supporters Club considering that the locality has a population of over 25,000. He stressed on the importance of the nursery as the club’s future depended on it. For this reason, there should be more co-ordination and communication between the management of the club and the nursery coaches.
He said that the committee worked hand in hand with coach Paul Zammit although it never interfered with his plans. A meeting between the two parties is being held once a month in order to maintain constant communication.
The Birkirkara president concluded by speaking about the committee’s work, saying that a number of sub-committees facilitated this work. He stressed that decisions are taken in collective manner by committee members and not by individuals.
Coach Paul Zammit thanked the committee for having faith in him. He said that he had accepted this appointment because he was ready for this challenge which arrives at a period of transition at the club.
For Zammit, the squad is not large enough to challenge for honours considering that there are only eighteen players in the squad including Rowen Muscat and Keith Fenech who were promoted from the Youth team. Half of the members of the squad are aged 23 or younger. He said that this meant that there is the right material to build strong foundations for the future.
The Birkirkara coach revealed the squad will be strengthened in January.
Zammit praised assistant coach and youth team coach Branko Nisevic, saying that his vast experience is an asset for the cub. He said that thanks to Nisevic, Under-19 and Under-17 players are being prepared in order to be able to make the grade in the Premier League.
Paul Zammit said that for the good of the local game, a solution had to be found regarding the current situation of national team players. He said that as club coach, he had difficulties in preparing for league games due to the unavailability of national team players while they are training at Ta’ Qali. He appealed for discussions between coaches and MFA officials with the main objective being that of finding a solution which would help improve the level of the local game.
Present for the press conference, besides Galea and Zammit, were vice-presidents John Borg, Emanuel Bezzina and Joseph Gauci together with Joanne Ellis from McDonald’s. The club’s other main sponsors are Teamsport and Powerade.