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NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 AUGUST 2023 Chamber of Commerce 'highly concerned' over The Sun's depiction of Malta as a party island Season 23/24 will see a number of changes to league regulations CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The association, formed in 2021, represents premier league clubs and is autonomous from the Malta Football Association. It comprises of 14 clubs. Addressing the media, MFA President Bjorn Vassallo said this is a season of "transition", and will see a number of chang- es to the league's format. "This is a journey which start- ed months ago, and will lead to the Maltese football advancing to the next level," he said. The MFA also announced changes to the league's format, with the main change being that this year, four teams will be rel- egated, up from two last year. The association also an- nounced incentives to help de- velop local footballers including financial incentives for clubs to play Maltese-born goalkeepers. Clubs will also be awarded funding if a player born before 2003 for 90 minutes. Present during the press con- ference was also Malta Premier League Chairman Joseph Mus- cat, who said the organisation is passing through a "learning curve". "There are targets which we want to hit, which might not necessarily benefit clubs on an individual level, but rather league as a whole," he said. Muscat insisted clubs are com- mitted to reform, and will make the league more attractive, com- petitive and entertaining. He said it's not just the Pre- mier League which will benefit, but see a trickle-down effect on lower leagues. The former PM also said the organisation looked at other leagues to learn on how best to apply the new format. "For example, a format which was scrapped was one similar to the Cypriot league, but we real- ised it would not make sense in Malta, as it would create a larger gap between the top half and bot- tom half of the league," he said. He said the format being adopted is more similar to that in Latvia. But Muscat warned that one should not expect immediate results. "We will start seeing re- sults two, three years down the line." This season the BOV Premier League will see 14 clubs com- pete over the span of 26 match- day. It will be played over two rounds, and will see 182 match- es played throughout the sea- son. THE Chamber of Commerce is "highly concerned" about inter- national news describing Malta as a destination for tourists seek- ing inexpensive alcohol, legal drugs and uninhibited revelry. The organisation said this undermined what it described as "more desirable avenues of tourism" and was contrary to government's pledge to pro- mote Malta as a hub for quality tourism. The chamber was referring to an article that appeared in British tabloid newspaper The Sun a couple of weeks ago that painted an exaggerated pic- ture of Malta as the land of debauchery. Taking the cue from the tab- loid's caricature, the chamber reiterated its stand in favour of "quality over numerical influx" of tourists and the promotion of Malta's uniqueness in terms of culture, heritage and history. "Although the number of tourists visiting our islands may have increased, in real terms their spending power has decreased," the chamber said. It added that targeting quali- ty went hand in hand with in- vestment in waste collection, cleanliness, order, enforce- ment, clean seas and beaches, upkeep of public areas, a stable energy supply, better traffic management and addressing over-construction. "This becomes even more relevant when one notes that Mediterranean countries that Malta competes with have reg- istered percentage increases in bed nights which are much greater than Malta's," the chamber said. It called for immediate ac- tion from the authorities to revive Malta as a destination of choice by tourists looking for quality experiences. "The preservation of our country's appeal must super- sede any transient allure of be- coming a mere party hotspot," the chamber said. No party: Chamber of Commerce wants tourism strategy to prioritise culture, heritage and history Malta Premier League Chairman Joseph Muscat and Malta Football Association President Bjorn Vassallo (Photos: James Bianchi/mediatoday)