Girls light up Centenary Stadium during Open Day

The Centenary Stadium buzzed with enthusiasm on Thursday, 7th December, 2017 as around 150 girls from local primary schools took part in an Open Day. This popular event was organised by the Grassroots and Women’s Department within the Malta FA Technical Centre, in collaboration with SportMalta and the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education (DQSE), as part of their shared mission to develop the grassroots’ level in women’s football. The first Open Day for season 2017-18 was held in Gozo in September. The participants for the Open Day held earlier this month came from the following schools: St Joan Antide, Fgura Primary ‘B’ (St Thomas More College) and St Margaret College (Cospicua Primary School). The activities for the girls, of whom only eight per cent are linked with local clubs, were overseen by qualified MFA coaches, club coaches and also members of the Malta Women’s U-19 national team. Maria Mizzi, a teacher at St Joan Antide School, said the girls had a great time. “It was great fun for the girls,” Ms Mizzi said. “They took part in many different games and football-related activities on turf and that was in itself a great experience for them. The whole activity was very well-planned and the coaches were really nice to all the kids. “The activities were fun and challenging. It was super fun.” This initiative is aimed at encouraging more girls who are not affiliated with any local club to take up football as it shows that the Beautiful Game can also be played by girls. The Malta FA is keen to generate more enthusiasm among girls aged between 6 and 11 years while also encouraging them to join local clubs in order to increase the number of girls in the local nurseries. All the participants at the Open Day received t-shirts while local clubs shared information about their work in women’s football. The MFA Technical Centre’s Grassroots & Women’s Department thanked the DQSE, SportMalta, participating schools, coaches, players and volunteers for their co-operation and enthusiastic participation in sharing their vision of developing women’s football at grassroots level. The next Open Day Festival for season 2017-18 is scheduled to take place on 8th March, 2018. For further information about this festival and women’s football in Malta, visit the Facebook page, MFA Women’s Football or send an email to girlsfestivals@mfa.com.mt.