An agreement between the Victim Support Agency (VSA) and the Malta Football Association (MFA) will see the launch of the ‘Stop the Hate’ campaign during the upcoming season’s competitions organised by the MFA. This time, the campaign will also give visibility to the Victim Support Agency, with the aim of raising awareness among those in need of support about the services available to them and their rights.

Thanks to funding from Komunità Malta, this collaboration has enabled the VSA to engage its professionals in raising awareness and providing training on the subject, while the MFA will use its sports platform to spread this message more widely to the public.

Photo courtesy of Malta FA

The Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Employment, Byron Camilleri, spoke about the importance of this agreement, emphasising that there is no better tool than sport to deliver a message against hate. He stated that hate speech and behaviour have no place anywhere, and highlighted that the importance of this agreement goes beyond just advertising the ‘Stop the Hate’ message—it also includes the awareness and training that will be provided by the VSA to various individuals involved in football.

With 59 teams participating in MFA-organised competitions, hundreds of people will be exposed to training and awareness initiatives, while thousands more will receive this important message as participants or spectators.

“I believe there is no better vehicle than sport to send a message of unity and against hate. That’s why it was a strategic decision to join forces with the MFA so that through the Victim Support Agency we can raise awareness about the existing services and use our expertise to deliver a continuous message against hate, while also focusing on prevention,” Minister Camilleri explained.

MFA officials spoke about how there is no place for abuse in football, and this effort aims to eliminate abuse from the game—whether physical, verbal, or online. As part of this agreement, all team captains will wear armbands with the ‘Stop the Hate’ message, and in stadiums where matches are played, the VSA contact number will be displayed. A convention will also be organised, bringing together sports stakeholders and professionals to discuss the issue.

For the MFA, this will be the second time it is organising the ‘Stop the Hate’ campaign. MFA President Bjorn Vassallo thanked the Ministry for its support and added, “I’m pleased that we are entering the second year of this campaign, with the main goal of delivering a positive message through football, so that abuse—whether in sports or even on social media—is reduced as much as possible.”

VSA Chief Executive Brian Farrugia said that awareness-raising among players, coaches, and other technical team members is a crucial step in fighting all forms of hate in sports—including racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other discriminatory abuses.

Through this collaboration with the Malta Football Association, the Victim Support Agency will be in a better position to help victims of hate speech get the support and assistance they need. “We want to send a clear message: a crime is always a crime—whether it happens on or off the pitch—and every victim has the right to protection, to dignified treatment, and to justice. Sport should be a safe space that unites, not divides.”

MFA Senior Vice President Dr Matthew Paris stressed the importance of making better use of social media and said that football can be a platform to send this message too. “Social media is a very powerful tool, but if misused, it can have devastating consequences. Once again, football is being used to deliver a strong message against abuse.”