Hamrun Spartans to be presented with BOV Premier League trophy on July 1

Champions Hamrun Spartans will be presented with the BOV Premier League trophy on Thursday July 1 at the Victor Tedesco Stadium during a 45-minute ceremony, starting at 20:30.

Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, the presentation will not be open to the public but it will be broadcast on TVM, Net TV and One TV. The respective stations are also expected to produce special programmes for the occasion.

The presentation is one of a number of events the club will be organising to mark the eighth championship in the history of the club.

Head of Operations Bernard Pace said it was no easy task organising events at this time of the pandemic but the club will still be able to organise a number of events apart from launching a website to strengthen the club’s online presence apart from the social media.

Events include initiatives with regards to corporate social responsibility, an activity for Academy players, thanksgiving mass at the two Hamrun parishes, visits by club officials accompanied by the Premier League trophy to organisations in Hamrun, courtesy visits to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and a gala dinner.

Pace thanked the club’s commercial partners and the volunteers for their support throughout the past season.

Chief Executive Officer Marcel Bonnici said the new structure at the club which is made up of nine units, of which Bernard Pace is in charge, which was set up last year, was meant to develop according to the club and market requirements. He said that one of the important aspects was to make volunteers feel that they are part of the club and that they could could contribute and come forward with an ideas and initiatives. Bonnici revealed that one hundred and twenty people are involved in the club operations.

Marcel Bonnici said the theme “Respecting the Past, Embracing the Future” meant that while recognising the club’s achievements in past, one had to look forward towards the future. He stressed that the current administration never intended to start afresh. While the past had both successes and mistakes, which maybe could have been avoided, the club now aimed at honouring the past but focus on the vision for the future.

“The club has a clear vision. We started last year and one year later, we are here speaking about the celebrations for the championship. Something which we may have not expected about but at the same time, we are not completely surprised because our vision was clear that we were going to Hamrun to achieve success.”

“Our plan is not to win just one championship as that would be a short-sighted plan. The success is to stay a successful club even when the current administration is no longer here.”

“The club’s vision so far was just to be a sports entity. The club now has to become a commercial brand – a marketing vehicle that will be used by other companies to portray their message. Our commercial partners renewed their commitment for the upcoming season and hopefully we can attract more companies to our club. We give our partners a return on investments in order to create a long-term relationship.”

Marcel Bonnici revealed that within the next four to six weeks, plans for the Victor Tedesco Stadium will be presented. He said that this would be a viable project which guarantees a future for the club with long-term sustainability.

With regards to the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after they were denied access to the UEFA Champions League, the Hamrun CEO announced that the decision will be released on Wednesday.

“We had four legal advisors to choose from and I can say that I am really pleased with the choice we made. I am confident our case will be heard and evaluated in the right manner by the CAS. We believe that the club has already paid the price for what the mistake. We condemn what happened and I can assure everyone that until we are at the helm such mistakes will not happen again,” said Bonnici.

Marcel Bonnici admitted the decision will affect the club’s budget for the transfer market. While stressing that with the players at their disposal, the squad is already strong enough, the availability of UEFA funds would enable the club to sign more players.

Meanwhile Gaetano Debattista said that throughout the years, the club went through several ups and downs but that was the past and now the club was back where it belongs. He said the current administration worked diligently and through a great set-up, achieved something which many were not expecting.