Champions Luxol Futsal will be travelling to Deva, Romania on Sunday to take part in Group 8 of the Main Round for the UEFA Futsal Cup 2017/18.

Luxol reached this stage after winning the Preliminary Round mini-tournament after defeating FC Diamant Linz, KMF Shkupi 1927 and Maccabi Tel Aviv in August. They went on to win the Super Cup in the competition which kicked-off the 2017/18 domestic season.

After the historic qualification, the committee tried to keep all foreign players for the Main Round with some modifications as Nikola Perkovic and Kristijan Grbesa were unable to make it due to personal reasons. As a replacement, Luxol signed Finnish international player Panu Matias Autio while player/coach Frane Despotovic will be back after recovering from an injury.

The squad also includes a good number of foreign highly-rated players – Croat pivot Hrvoje Penava, Norwegian international star goalkeeper Kenneth Rakvaag, Brazilians Rogerio dos Santos and Celino Alves de Freitas, Romanian captain Emil Andrei Raducu and Serbian pivot Zvezdan Vukovic.

The squad led by player coach Frane Despotovic and captain Mark Zammit also includes highly rated Maltese players with great experience in our domestic league, such as Gian Carlo Sammut, Glenn Bonello, Andy Mangion, George Frendo and goalkeepers Clint Mifsud and Adrian Attard. Matthew Xerxen cannot make the trip due to personal reasons.

Luxol Futsal we will be playing in Group 8 of the UEFA Futsal Cup Main Round 2017/2018 that will also include hosts FC Deva from Romania, Araz Naxcivan from Azerbaijan and Mostar from Bosnia & Herzegovina. Luxol take on hosts Deva on Wednesday, Araz on Thursday and Mostar on Saturday.

The club thanked sponsors EMS, Holland & Barret, Vella Brothers, Servgroup ltd, Dove (George Borg ltd), The Resin and Membrane Centre, Mediterranean Protection Solutions, Teamsport, Paradise Bay Hotels, Goodies, Naxxar Motors and Shaggy’s Pub.

The squad which will be making the trip to Romania is made up of:
Goalkeepers – Kenneth Rakvaag (Norway), Clint Mifsud (Malta), Adrian Attard (Malta).
Players – Celino Alves (Brazil), Panu Autio (Finland), Frane Despotovic (Croatia), Rogerio dos Santos (Brazil), Gian Carlo Sammut (Malta), Mark Zammit (Malta), Glenn Bonello (Malta), Gorg Frendo (Malta), Emil Andrei Raducu (Romania), Andy Mangion (Malta), Hrvoje Penava (Croatia), Zvezdan Vukovic (Serbia).
Coaching Staff – Frane Despotovic (Croatia) Zeljko Anicic.