The Malta Football Association announced the new bonuses for national team players after the previous system which consisted of training allowances and bonuses for appearances and points obtained has been scrapped.
Speaking during a meeting of the Council of the Malta Football Association, president Norman Darmanin Demajo said that following a first offer by the association, the players made a counter proposal which was deemed to be “a bit unreasonable.” However the association has decided to increase further the amounts it had previously offered.
The Line-Up Bonus for the eighteen players who will be selected for a particular match will be as follows: €300 for a friendly match and €700 for a competitive match.
Over and above the Line-Up Bonus will be the bonuses for points obtained.
In case of a draw in a friendly match, players will be getting €250 each while in case of a draw in a competitive match, they will be getting €1,750.
In case of a win in a friendly match, players will be rewarded with €500 while a win in a competitive match would mean a bonus of €3,500.
Darmanin Demajo stressed that this was never a financial issue but a matter of motivating the players to do better. He said he believes that on the day, Malta can win points and that in a particular qualifying campaign, Malta could win three to four points.
MFA Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Vassallo said that the association will be paying a minimum of €160,000 to players for a qualifying campaign consisting of ten matches, if no points were obtained.
The MFA president said that at first the national team coaches had expressed their concern but agreed with the concept. He said this new system would make it easier for them to draft in new players in the squad according to their current form.
Darmanin Demajo said this was the association’s final offer. He said that if there were players who decide not to turn up for training sessions, they would still be eligible to play for the national team.
Photo: Copyright © www.stephengatt.com