The Mediterranean College of Sport will be opening its doors in September 2024 for students aged 11 to 18. The independent college, which is based at the sports complex of St. Aloysius College in Birkirkara, plans to be a school of excellence for students who apart from the academic subjects will be focussing on a particular sport among football, athletics, swimming, waterpolo and artistic swimming.

Details were revealed during the launch of the partnership between the MCS and Hudson Group at the St. Aloysius College Sports Pavilion thanks to which Intersport, a brand represented by Hudson Group, has been appointed as the official uniform and kit provider for MCS with Nike products.

MCS CEO Charlo Bonnici explained that the first students to be accepted in the college will be in Year 7 (born 2013), Year 8 (born 2012), Year 9 (born 2011) and the Sixth Form (born 2008). Applications are open and will close in mid-January.

Following the appointment of George Micallef as Director of Sport Development and Recruitment, the college has appointed Mariuccia Fenech as the Academic Head of School. Other members of the school leadership team have been appointed and will be joining the college next year ahead of the 2023/24 scholastic year. There was also a recruitment drive for teachers who will be joining the college when the MCS opens its doors.

With regards to the recruitment of coaches, the College has already appointed a foreign head coach for football who worked in Italy, UK and Portugal. A number of other coaches have also been selected.

The MCS and the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta (ASA) signed a memorandum of understanding, earlier this year, in which they agreed to collaborate in various areas including coaching, sport development, sport research and sport science as well as exchange programmes. The two parties also agreed that the ASA national team coaches, Milan Cirovic (waterpolo), Delon Dannhauser (swimming) and Michelle Hubner (artistic swimming) will also be head coaches at MCS for their respective disciplines.

On the other hand, the MCS is currently working on the appointment of coaches for athletics.

MCS Chairperson Pio Vassallo said the MCS mission is to leave a positive impact on society. He said that the MCS was no longer just a dream but one could now see tangible results. Vassallo thanked St. Aloysius College and the Jesuits for their support.

Works on the sports facilities, which will include football pitches, an indoor 25-metre pool with retractable roof and the 400 metre athletics track are nearing completion. All facilities will be on campus.

The complex will also include the first specialised Sports Science and Research Centre and a 100-bed sports hotel for teams visiting the island.

The Mediterranean College of Sport will eventually have a population of 390 students with around 140 students joining the college in 2024. A number of parents have already enrolled their children and interest has also been expressed from abroad.

A promotional video was launched. The video, produced by Born Bold, embodies both MCS and Hudson Group’s vision of delivering unrivalled sporting experiences and academic opportunities.