MFA says July 15 date for the return of competitive sports further vindicates ExCo decision

Following the government’s decision to lift COVID-19 restrictions on all sporting activity, including competitions involving contact sport, with July 1 earmarked for training with contact for contact sports and July 15 for the resumption of competition, the Malta Football Association issued a statement in which it stated that this vindicated the Executive Committee’s decision to terminate competitions.

“The Malta Football Association has taken note of the dates and guidelines issued by the Government today for the resumption of contact sports activities.”

“While welcoming these positive developments which will pave the way for the resumption of all sport activities following the unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is pertinent to point out that the July 15 date for the return of competitive sports further vindicates the unanimous decision made by the Malta FA Executive Committee to terminate its competitions for season 2019-20.”

“As explained on several occasions, UEFA gave National Associations until May 25, 2020 to communicate their decision on the restart or termination of the competitions. Until today, 3rd June, 2020, there was no official target date, set by the Government and health authorities, as to when contact sport activities could resume.”

“Furthermore, the July 15 date for the return of competitive sport would have made it impossible to complete the BOV Premier League, with 42 matches remaining, and the final three matches of the FA Trophy, in a five-day period. This is due to the fact that UEFA had set a July 20 deadline for the submission of the names of the teams competing in the initial qualifying rounds of the 2020-21 UEFA club competitions in the event that the domestic competitions could have resumed within the stipulated time-frame.”

“Now that the dates and guidelines for the restart of contact sports competitions have been established, the Malta FA will be stepping up its preparations and plans for season 2020-21. The Association has today convened a video-conference meeting of the Social Dialogue Committee to discuss regulatory matters while the next Council meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday.”