Honouring the progress of the Malta women’s team

A delegation of the Malta women’s national team this afternoon paid a courtesy visit to Julia Farrugia Portelli, Minister for Inclusion and Social Wellbeing and Dr Clifton Grima, the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sports and Voluntary Organisations. Due recognition was given to the achievements of the women’s national team who wrapped up their UEFA Women EURO qualifiers with away victories against Georgia (4-0) and Israel (2-0) for a record number of 10 points in Group B. This progress is also reflected in the FIFA Women World Ranking as the Maltese girls rose 16 places to 85th in the last classification. Minister Farrugia Portelli said the excellent results obtained by the Malta women’s national team made the entire country proud. Praising the determination and dedication of the Maltese girls, Farrugia Portelli said: “These results also show that we are overcoming barriers and practise inclusion also in sport. The performance of the women’s national team show that we are on the right track as far as inclusivity is concerned and our players are role models for other young women.” Dr Grima also paid tribute to the remarkable progress made by the women’s national team and women’s football in general. “You are sporting ambassadors for our country,” Dr Grima said. “The positive results achieved should motivate you to improve further in the next competition. You have the ability to do it and above all, your efforts are also encouraging more and more women to practise football. Credit must be given to the Malta FA for their commitment towards women’s football.” The Malta women’s football delegation was led by Dr Angelo Chetcuti, the General Secretary of the Malta FA. “We are pleased with the very positive results obtained by our women’s team as well as the men’s side in 2020,” Dr Chetcuti said. “Our daily efforts, our commitment are geared towards attaining and sustaining this kind of progress not only today but more importantly in the future. To this end, the support and assistance of the Government are very important for us to implement our projects in pursuit of long-term improvement.”