Matches to be played behind closed doors

The Malta Football Association announces that, with immediate effect, all football and futsal matches organised by the Association in Malta and Gozo in all categories will be played behind closed doors as a precautionary measure in response to growing concerns over the COVID-19 virus.

In the current circumstances, the Malta FA is duty-bound to adopt all the necessary preventive measures with public health being the foremost priority.

The Association officials and medical staff are in regular contact with the health authorities who are in full support of this decision to play matches without spectators.

Only the following persons will be allowed to access the stadia and futsal venues for as long as this directive remains in place:

• Players of the respective teams
• Registered coaches, technical and medical staff of the respective teams on the match sheet
• Malta FA match officials
• Malta FA medical staff
• Committee members of the clubs involved on matchday
• Malta FA officials and Executive Committee Members
• Police officers on duty
• Stadium personnel on duty
• Accredited media representatives

Based on medical advice, the pre-match fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice.

The above decisions and protocol also apply to non-league football and competitions organised by Malta FA member associations.

The Malta FA is in discussions with third parties to live-stream selected matches from its competitions.

The Youth FA and the Gozo Youth FA competitive and friendly matches, events, festivals and training sessions are being cancelled with immediate effect.

All training sessions and activities of the national football selections in the Under-17, Under-16 and Under-15 age-groups and the girls’ academy are also being suspended.

Competitive football and futsal matches for all other youth and senior age categories will take place behind closed doors. The Association urges all member clubs to also hold all training sessions behind closed doors or with restricted access.

All of the above measures have been taken in consultation with the Gozo FA, The Youth FA, the Gozo Youth FA and Government of Malta. The Malta FA will continue to monitor the situation closely and liaise with all the relevant authorities and stakeholders.

Any further updates will be published on this website – http://www.mfa.com.mt – in due course.

While thanking everyone for their understanding and co-operation, the Malta FA renews its appeal to the general public to act responsibly and comply with the instructions issued by the health authorities.

Further medical assistance and advice, one may call the 111 COVID-19 helpline or 21324086. The latest updates can also be found on https://covid19malta.info.

For other Malta FA match operations requests or enquiries, kindly send an email to matchoperations@mfa.com.mt.