Football community comes together for Boxing Day Tournament

The Maltese football community came together on Wednesday to participate in the Boxing Day Tournament at the Centenary Stadium.Teams representing the Malta Football Association, the Malta Sports Journalists Association (MSJA), the Malta Football Referees Association (MFRA) and the Malta Football Coaches Association (MFCA) braved the cold weather with members of these four organisations putting on their football outfits to play in this round-robin tournament, organised annually by the MSJA. Apart from bringing together four of the main stakeholders in local football during the Christmas period, the Boxing Day Tournament, organised by the MSJA, is also a charity event with the participating players and attendees making a donation in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund. Last Friday, Malta FA President Norman Darmanin Demajo presented the Association’s annual donation of €12,000 in aid of L-Istrina. A total of six matches were played, with two games staged simultaneously every hour between 9am and noon. The Malta Football Coaches Association won the tournament with maximum 9 points after winning all three matches. The four participating teams gave their all to finish on top. Their efforts ensured that the competitive aspect was not lacking during the matches.  The tournament also served as a platform for former players and coaches to roll back the years... National coach Ray Farrugia, Malta Under-21 coach Silvio Vella, Malta U-19 coach Winston Muscat, and Malta U-17 coach Noel Turner turned out for the Malta FA, along with some of the Association’s top officials, including General Secretary Dr Angelo Chetcuti, Vice-President Dr Matthew Paris and Rodney Pisani, the Deputy General Secetary. Former Malta players Brian Said and Alex Azzopardi together with the ex-Ħamrun Spartans stalwart Rupert Mangion lined up for the winning Coaches side, the sports’ journalists selection featured the likes of Keith Demicoli, Peter Cossai, Konrad Sultana, Sandro Micallef, Stewart Said and Antvin Monsigneur, while the MFRA team comprised some of the country’s leading match officials. President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca paid a visit to the tournament along with Dr Clifton Grima, the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sports and Voluntary Organisations. Her Excellency Ms Coleiro Preca expressed her appreciation to the participating players and officials of the four organisations for renewing their support towards L-Istrina which is being held today. Sandro Micallef, the President of the MSJA presented the winners’ shield to Brian Said captain of the Malta Football Coaches Association. RESULTSMSJA vs MFA 2-1MFCA vs MFRA 5-1MSJA vs MFCA 1-2MFA vs MFRA 0-2MFA vs MFCA 1-3MSJA vs MFRA 3-1 Standings: MFCA  9pts, MSJA 6pts, MFRA 3pts, MFA 0pts.