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4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 SEPTEMBER 2025 INTERVIEW Marcel Bonnici: 'Hamrun Spartans will not stop dreaming' MARCEL Bonnici has lofty ambitions for Ħamrun Spartans, the Maltese football club that made domestic his- tory by qualifying to the league phase of the European Conference League. Bonnici is the club's CEO and as I sit down with him to discuss this achievement, he tells me he is not yet satisfied—he wants Ħamrun to shoot for the stars. "I can sit here and tell you our targets for the season have been reached. But I will stick to the club's philosophy in always remaining ambitious. We will not stop dreaming," Bonnici tells me. It is this philosophy which he hopes to ingrain in the squad, that is pushing the club towards breaking records and stacking up achievements, Bonnici ar- gues. But rewiring the club's philosophy is just one cog in the Ħamrun machine. He explains how since the club was taken over by the new administration, internal restructuring was carried out immediately. Bonnici says the new structure is split into three: The ad- ministrative arm, the technical arm and the operative arm, with him over- seeing the wider operation. "Maltese football this year celebrat- ed its 125th anniversary, and clubs have always been run with a commit- tee format. We changed it, as a man- agement tool cannot remain relevant after such a long period of time, even if it was successful in the past," he says, arguing the new structure makes operations run more efficiently. On club president Joseph Portelli, Bonnici says beyond the controversial nature of the Gozitan development magnate, he has always had big ambi- tions. "When Joseph said he wanted to see the club qualify for the group stages, it was seen as something overly ambi- tious. The same with Mercury Tow- ers. But that is where you should start. It all starts with a dream," Bonnici says. Speaking on Ħamrun's historic qual- ification to the league phase of the Conference League, Bonnici refutes suggestions it's all down to the club's financial standing. "But if you look at the clubs who qualified across Europe, only a hand- ful managed to do so with the budget that we had. For me it's a source of pride. Even the clubs we played on our way. RFS's squad is valued at €10 million, Maccabi Tel Aviv's squad at around €30 million and we kept fight- ing till the last minute, Ħamrun's squad value stands at around €4.75 million," he said. The CEO also details the tactics being deployed by coach Giacomo Modica on the pitch, with a 4-3-3 formation focused on high-intensity attacking football. Bonnici explains how the philosophy is directly in- spired from Modica's time as right- hand man to legendary coach Zdenek Zeman. Ħamrun Spartans made Maltese footballing history this year, accomplishing a feat no other team has managed—qualification to a European competition's league phase. Karl Azzopardi sits down with club CEO Marcel Bonnici to discuss the road travelled thus far and the way ahead.