Balzan FC is pleased to announce that it has been successful in its grant application for an 8-day project for players from its Balzan FC Academy to visit Italy for a football and cultural exchange visit in August 2015. The project will be funded with support from the European Commission through its Erasmus+ programme.

The project will involve a group of 18 young players from Balzan FC Academy visiting AC Prato, a club Balzan FC has had strong football links with for a number of years.

Timmy Gambin Balzan FC Academy’s Director said “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this grant. This exchange visit will enable our boys to not only further their football development but has been organised to give them the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills as they meet Italian boys of a similar age group and learn from each other in a friendly and informal manner. Our players will also participate in a series of workshops and games and we will also be organising visits to important Italian historical sites for our boys to learn more about Italian culture.”

Ludvic Bartolo, Balzan FC Academy’s Technical Director added “Balzan Academy aims to not only produce good football players on the pitch but through our holistic approach we believe we are offering boys the right professional training that can help our boys develop important life skills. We believe that football is an essential part of youth development in not only promoting a healthy and active lifestyle but also through helping our players understand the important principles of discipline and mutual respect which are so crucial in their prospective career development .”

Anton Tagliaferro, Honorary President of Balzan FC concluded by saying: “This is another big step forward by Balzan FC as we seek to become the leading football academy in Malta. The youth exchange with AC Prato will be a memorable part of our young players’ personal development as well as being important in promoting our boys active EU citizenship. I want to thank everyone involved at the club with the success in winning this wonderful grant – as well as Meusec for its invaluable support and guidance throughout the grant application process.”