VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined Prime Minister Robert Abela on Monday evening for the inauguration of Malta’s new National Football Centre in Ta’ Qali. The state-of-the-art complex, built to UEFA best practice standards, includes a Category 1 stadium, sports science laboratories, a physiotherapy clinic, gym, recovery areas for players, meeting rooms, lecture halls, and administrative offices.
The centre, designed sustainably, will act as Malta’s technical and logistical hub for all national teams and host international youth tournaments, the Office of the Prime Minister said. The launch also formed part of celebrations marking the 125th anniversary of the Malta Football Association (MFA). Among the guests were UEFA Vice President Jesper Møller Christensen and football greats Fabio Cannavaro and Christian Vieri.
Abela hailed the MFA for leading by example with initiatives such as Football for Integration and Play Green. He described the centre as “another vote of confidence in the vibrancy of Maltese football,” made possible through co-financing by the National Development and Social Fund and a loan from the Malta Development Bank.
“This investment, worth millions, equips our national game with the facilities it needs to grow stronger,” he said. “It provides our national teams with the best possible support while encouraging more Maltese people to get involved in football.”
Abela also reflected on Malta’s football journey, citing milestones such as the opening of the National Stadium in the 1980s and the recent success of Ħamrun Spartans, the first Maltese club to reach the group stage of a major European competition.
Earlier on Monday, Infantino inaugurated Malta’s first FIFA Arena mini-pitch at Maria Regina College Primary School in St Paul’s Bay, alongside football legends Christian Vieri and Fabio Cannavaro. Part of a global FIFA initiative to build 1,000 mini-pitches, the project aims to provide safe, inclusive spaces for children to play and learn. The school, home to around 700 pupils from 51 nationalities, was chosen to reflect its diversity.
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(ITALPRESS).
