The Malta Football Association and Bank of Valletta are close to concluding discussions over the renewal of the sponsorship of the National Leagues, the Super Cup and the Women’s Super Cup for another three years. This was announced on Saturday at the Grand Hotel Excelsior during the draws of the BOV Football Leagues for season 2015/2016.

Addrssing the media, MFA General Secretary Bjorn Vassallo announced that negotiations between the two parties were nearing conclusion and therefore once again Bank of Valletta would be the leagues’ official sponsor.

Vassallo said that the leagues will end in April as the association was planning extensive works at the National Stadium and the Centenary Stadium.

The MFA General Secretary revealed that as from the coming season the official match ball for the BOV Premier League will be the Nike Ordem – the same match ball used in the the English Premier League, the Spanish Liga and the Italian Serie A. Macron Horizon will be used for the BOV First Division, Second Division and Third Division leagues.

Vassallo admitted that overall attendances for the senior competitions organised by the association during season 2014/15 decreased by 1% but a remarkable increase was registered in the BOV Second Division, the FA Trophy and the BOV Super Cup. The overall attendance amounted to 160,000.

Bjorn Vassallo went on to say that last year was a season of success for referees who were given a total of fifty-six international appointments and two referees got important promotions. He said that hopefully in December, Esther Azzopardi would make it to the Elite, making her one of the top twenty referees in the world. Meanwhile in order to prepare for the coming season, top referees will be going for a training camp in Austria.

The MFA General Secretary added that the MFA was working hard on social responsibility with the theme “Football for Life” and thanked BOV for their support in this initiative.

Meanwhile BOV Chief Executive Officer Charles Borg said that BOV was proud to continue supporting sport in Malta. He said these sponsorships were an important part of the bank’s community programme. BOV feels it is their duty to participate in sports, culture, heritage and the community in general.

This is the 11th consecutive year with Bank of Valletta as the official sponsor of Malta’s national football leagues and this long term and sustained commitment is testimony to the importance that BOV gives to sports, its promotion and a healthy lifestyle.