Magisterial inquiry: Malta FA medical protocol worked well

The magisterial inquiry into the incident that occurred during the 2019-20 BOV Third Division League match between Santa Venera Lightnings and Kirkop United, played on October 31, 2019 at the Centenary Stadium, found that the Malta Football Association’s medical protocol worked well and played a vital role in saving the life of Santa Venera player Yau-Mun Law.  The findings of the magisterial inquiry were presented by Malta FA President Bjorn Vassallo at the Association’s Council meeting earlier this week. While commenting positively on the medical procedures followed and the fact that the optimal use of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was instrumental in this particular case, the magisterial inquiry proposed that the Malta FA should assess and eventually implement a procedure whereby, for every match, every club should have a certified first-aider. The Malta FA has embraced these recommendations as well as other proposals put forward by the Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) by way of improving preventive health screening of football players and first-aid and medical response procedures during domestic matches. At Tuesday’s meeting, the Malta FA Council approved amendments to the regulations governing the medical obligations of clubs and players. Under the revised regulations, which will come into effect at the start of next season, the validity period of the medical test has been reduced from two years to one year for players aged over 17 years. The medical test for players aged between 12 and 16 is now valid for two seasons instead of three, commencing on the date when the mandatory medical examination is performed. The regulations also make it obligatory for clubs to provide at their competitive matches at least one person from those listed on the match sheet, including players, who is certified in first aid. Furthermore, the club must ensure that the person indicated on the match list is effectively present throughout the match. CONSULTATION PROCESS At Tuesday’s Malta FA Council meeting, the Malta FA President gave an update on the on-going consultation process on the proposals on the youth competitions, a charter on the proposed introduction of a professional club in the Italian league, and matters related to the status and registration of players. This process follows months of discussions involving the Professional Football Committee, the Social Dialogue Committee and the Malta FA administration in the context of the Association’s technical projects and the directions the Malta FA has received from FIFA. It was also announced that the government has agreed in principle to support the Malta FA’s project to replace the artificial turf pitches at clubs’ facilities over a five-year period. The initial phase of this project will cover the oldest synthetic pitches, with the first going back to 2007. SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT Speaking about the importance of investment in football, Vassallo said that football activities leave a very a positive impact on the country, generating significant social, health and financial benefits. “A study carried out by UEFA found that that socio-economic impact from the Malta FA activities and its member runs into tens of millions of euros,” Vassallo said. “Suffice to say that, as far as sports tourism is concerned, the international matches and training camps and other activities organised by MFA SportsPlus Limited generate around 30,000 bed nights every year.”WOMEN’S FOOTBALLThe Malta FA Council has issued the green light for the players registered with Hibernians women’s teams to join other clubs. This follows the decision by Hibernians to withdraw their teams for the women’s senior and Under-19 competitions.The matter was discussed at Executive Committee level with the members agreeing that the footballing development of the affected players takes precedence over competition-related considerations. The players have until mid-March to register with a new club. SOLIDARITY PAYMENTSUEFA has informed the National Associations that it was increasing the solidarity payment allocation by €120,000 on the back of positive commercial results. Maltese clubs will benefit from this increment in the annual solidarity payments which are distributed through national associations to clubs to invest in their youth development programmes and/or local community schemes. TECHNICAL CENTREThe designs for a new state-of-the-art Technical Centre at the Malta FA Training Grounds were presented for the first time during the last Council meeting. The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2021, is intended to serve as a centre of excellence with footballing development and the national teams at the heart of its operations.The new Technical Centre and adjacent pitches will also offer improved facilities for training camps, thus facilitating sports tourism which has seen a significant growth in recent years thanks to the work of MFA SportsPlus Limited.