By means of this agreement, FXDD will sponsor the MFA and be the official sponsor of the MFRA. The complete kit which will be available for free for all referees will include the official match kit which comprises top, shorts, tracksuit, match bag and padded jacket and the official training kits which comprises top, shorts, tracksuit, polo shirt, rain jacket and kit bag. Match officials will be using this apparel at all times while in training and/or officiating all official matches of competitions organised by the Malta Football Association.
The MFA President said that despite criticism, he is satisfied with the level of refereeing in Malta. But although the level is good, the association should continue working towards improving it. He said he was glad FXDD Malta Ltd has agreed on this sponsorship as this would help the association in improving the level of refereeing and motivating the refereeing sector.
Darmanin Demajo said the association will monitor how recruitment of referees was being done and how this should be done. He said that refereeing was very challenging but equally rewarding.
He announced that Marco Borg, Chris Lautier, Clayton Pisani and Alan Mario Sant were confirmed as FIFA Referees, Franco Cachia as FIFA Futsal Referee while Esther Azzopardi was promoted to FIFA First Class Women’s Referee. Konrad Borg, Alan Camilleri, Joe Camilleri, Mariano Debono, William Debattista, Edward Spiteri and Ingmar Spiteri were confirmed as FIFA Assistant Referees while Chris Francalanza will replace Philip Agius as FIFA Assistant Referee.
The association was working on possible exchanges with referees from other countries and mentioned the possibility of an exchange with referees from Cyprus. He also said that sports psychologist Ian Maynard will be invited to Malta in March to lead a course in mental preparation for referees.
Darmanin Demajo finally said that the association should invest in recruitment, helping prospective referees understand that refereeing could be extremely rewarding.
He said that the uniformity of kits for referees was only achieved in the mid-nineties but this was the first time that the complete kits will be available for free.
The MFRA president revealed that around 20 to 25 new referees joined the association every year but the main problem was that of retaining them. He said that the MFRA was doing its best to support new referees by making them work closer to more experienced ones. However he pointed out that one had to understand that the younger referees had to start from somewhere and for example, one could not expect FIFA referees to control the Under-15 matches.
The current complement of referees is that of around hundred referees.
FXDD Malta Finance Manager Fiona Soler said it was a great pleasure for the company to sponsor referees and said she hopes this sponsorship would help to promote refereeing in Malta.
Soler thanked the Malta Football Association and the Malta Football Referees Association for making this agreement possible.
The first one is Volume One of Goal – an Encyclopedia of Maltese Football. The encyclopedia, consisting of ten volumes, is being compiled by football historian Carmel Baldacchino. Each volume of the encyclopedia is divided into four parts, namely the history of Maltese football, the national team, encounters with foreign teams and an A to Z of Maltese football focussing on players, referees, coaches, officials, foreign clubs visiting Malta and competitions.
The second publication was a translation of the FIFA Laws of the Game by former FIFA Referee Adrian D. Casha. Casha, who is now an MFA Referees Board member, a Referees Observer and a National Referees Instructor, carried out this translation as a thesis for a Masters in Traslation at the University of Malta.
The thesis consists of a translation of the seventeen laws of the game and a glossary of three hundred terms linked to football.
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