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Financial incentives for clubs who field young players

Published: 21-07-2018 12:15
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The Malta FA’s unwavering drive to promote local talent and boost our national teams is being stepped up with the introduction of a new scheme entitled the U-21 Player Development Fund. Starting from season 2018-19, local clubs will receive a solidarity payment for every young player aged under 21 years they field during a competitive match. Details of this exciting scheme were given by Malta FA President Norman Darmanin Demajo during his closing speech at the 2018 Annual General Meeting, held on Saturday at the Grand Hotel Excelsior. “From the coming seasons, we will introduce a new scheme aimed at promoting and compensating those teams that make use of U-21 players who are eligible to play for our national teams,” Darmanin Demajo told the assembly. In addition to the age requirement (aged 21 and under), the player/s must be eligible to represent the Maltese national teams in international football and play for a minimum of 30 minutes in the match. The solidarity payments will be distributed as follows: Premier League€125 per match for every U-21 player that meets the stipulated criteria. The maximum amount a club can benefit from this scheme is €6,500 per season Division One€70 for every U-21 player per match, up to maximum of €3,600 per season. Division Two€60 for every U-21 player per match, up to maximum of €3,000 Division Three€50 for every U-21 player per match, up to maximum of €2,500 per season. The Malta FA has allocated a budget of €210,000 for this new scheme. GATE INCOME INITIATIVEThe Malta FA President also introduced another new scheme – the Guaranteed Income Scheme whereby the Association will guarantee a fixed amount of gate income every season. “The idea is for the MFA to guarantee a minimum amount of gate money to all clubs in all divisions,” Darmanin Demajo said. The proposed amounts are higher than what the clubs have been earning in the last few seasons. This new scheme, which is also intended to give the clubs a financial boost, is estimated to cost the Malta FA €175,000 for season 2018-19. With two other schemes launched a few months ago – the Facilities Grant Scheme and the Club Administrators Assistance Scheme, the Malta FA has set a budget of €760,000 for these assistance programmes.