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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JUNE 2023 NEWS Athlete naturalisation: a shortcut to success? KARL AZZOPARDI THE nature of sport is compe- tition, and competition means gaining an edge over the oppo- nent by any means possible... in a fair way. Malta's lack of national suc- cess in sports can be attribut- ed to several factors – lack of professional setup, funding, nepotism and in certain sports, corruption. But another factor, which sometimes may be used as an excuse, is the country's small pool of athletes from which to create a competitive nation- al squad. This reality is fur- ther amplified in less-popular sports like table tennis, athlet- ics and basketball. For years, several sport or- ganisations and associations in Malta have opted to naturalise players to gain an edge in inter- national competitions. Last week, Malta topped the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) medal list for the first time in the country's history, winning a total of 97 medals. Athletes under the spotlight Team Malta's success was im- mediately put under the spot- light as people started ques- tioning the naturalisation of several athletes across different sport disciplines. Out of the 214 athletes who formed the Maltese contin- gent, 183 athletes were Maltese nationals, 24 were non-Maltese nationals who resided in Malta for at least the past three years and seven were awarded a pass- port by merit. The seven athletes awarded a Maltese passport were: Felix Wetzel (Table Tennis), Dimi- trij Prokopcov (Table Tennis), Camilla Iacob (Table Tennis), Renata Strbikova (Table Ten- nis), Amber Melgoza (Basket- ball), Eric Washington (Bas- ketball) and Matija Pecotic (Tennis). At the get-go, the practice was called out by Maltese table tennis player Andrew Gambi- na, former Malta Table Tennis Academy vice president David Pace and Maltese-Slovakian table tennis player Viktoria Lu- cenkova. "The foreigners representing Malta, who have no connection to the island, will be showing up for the games, pocketing a vast sum of money, and leaving thereafter, contributing 0% to Malta and the development of Maltese table tennis," Gambina said. Malta has a Citizenship on Merit Initiative. Malta can grant citizenship to individuals who have rendered an excep- tional service to the country or to humanity or whose naturali- sation is of exceptional interest to Malta. According to GSSE technical regulations, the games are open to all nationals of the member countries. Regulations also state that individuals who have been residents in the country for at least three years without interruption at the date of the Games, are assimilated to the nationals. Regulations go on to state that foreigners fulfilling the requirements must have an official permit of residence, signed and sealed from the na- tional authority and a licence of the national sport federation governing their sport in their country of residence for at least three years. Sources within the sports associations pointed out the practice is adopted by many participating countries. "Look at Cyprus for example - they have a large cohort of athletes who would not have made it in Greece and there- fore opt to play for the Cyp- riots. The situation is also the same for San Marino; athletes who do not make the cut with the Italians, play with them," the source said. Other insiders who spoke to this newspaper said that while they agree with the naturali- sation of athletes, an individu- al who was brought in for the GSSE, has already decided not to represent Malta in the up- coming European games. "For us its normal to not re- ceive any prize money for win- ning a medal during interna- tional competitions, and the GSSE was an exception. But when this individual was told she was not going to be paid, she decided on not competing," an athlete said. "One could crit- icise the individual for showing a lack of loyalty, but one could also criticise the authorities in- volved for not taking a profes- sional approach to sport." Naturalisation beyond the GSSE But the naturalisation of play- ers is also carried out in other sports, with the most popular being football. Two of the most famous ex- amples are national team play- ers Jodi Jones and Teddy Teu- ma. Jones was born in England and plays with English Football League Two side Notts Coun- ty. He is of Maltese descent through his father. On 9 September 2022, he had his first call up with the Malta national team for a set of UEFA Nations League matches and debuted with Malta in a 2-1 UEFA Nations League loss to Estonia on 23 September 2022. Theuma was also awarded Maltese citizenship based on his Maltese descent back in 2020. Born in France, the midfield- er is touted to make a big move to French Ligue 1 side Stade Rennes. The player is regarded as one of the most technically gifted players in the current crop of Maltese players. What are the big sporting countries doing? Quick research shows it is not just small countries who decide on naturalising players to gain advantage over their sporting rivals. Chelsea FC star Kalidou Koulibaly was born in France to Senegalese parents and had even represented France at the 2011 U20 World Cup in Co- lombia but snubbed France to play for Senegal from Septem- ber 2015 onwards. England star Raheem Sterling wasn't born on British soil. In fact, from Kingston, Jamaica, he moved to London when he was five, and decided to play for the Three Lions at interna- tional level. More examples abound, espe- cially in large countries where the talent pool often spills into the countries they once colo- nised. Naturalisation may be a short cut to success but as the GSSE showed, most medals won were by native Maltese athletes. At the end of it all, Team Malta's resounding success may have spurred interest in the young- er generations to pursue sports at an elite level, irrespective of who the medal winners were. See also JOSANNE CASSAR MT2 Naturalised Maltese (clockwise from above left): Eric Washington, Felix Wetzel and Teddy Teuma