Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/374383
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2014 FOOTBALL FOOTBALL ATHLETICS Match for Peace tops TV ratings More than 20,000 people attended the match at the Olimpico while 5 million tuned in on the box to watch the Pope's initiative MONDAY'S Match for Peace was a resounding success and not just on the field of play. The game was watched by more than 20,000 fans, while the TV ratings went through the roof. Broadcast on Rai1, the game gath- ered the biggest stars from world football, with audience figures peaking at nearly 5 million view- ers (4,997,000), a 20.74% share. Viewers in the 8-14 age category reached 24.5% of the share. "I'm happy that the Scholas Occur- rentes and PUPI foundations chose Rai for this special occasion that Pope Francis was so eager to organise," explained Rai president Anna Maria Tarantola. Javier Zanetti, the event's pro- moter also expressed his delight: "I'm really pleased that the Match for Peace was such a success and that I was able to make it happen for Pope Francis. I would like to thank the big au- dience that watched us on TV, so- cial networks and in the stadium, helping to make it a success. A big thank you goes to the legendary players who made this all possible, to our partners who believed in the event, and to Rai who supported us, first and fore- most president Tarantola. Thank you everyone." (L-R) Javier Zanetti, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero Javier Zanetti and Diego Maradona The idea arose in April 2013 following a conversation between former Argentine and Inter Milan player Javier Zanetti (pictured right) and Pope Francis International Friendly Fixtures Today 10:00 Myanmar - Palestine 13:00 Philippines - Taiwan 17:00 Russia - Azerbaijan 18:30 Lithuania - U.A.E 19:00 Ukraine - Moldona 19:45 Latvia - Armenia 20:00 Denmark - Turkey 20:15 Cech Republic - USA 20:45 Germany - Argentina 20:45 Ireland - Oman 21:00 England - Norway 21:00 Morocco - Qatar Tomorrow 13:34 China - Kuwait 14:00 Belarus - Tajikistan 14:00 Uzbekistan - Jordan 17:00 Bosnia H. - Liechtenstein 18:20 Slovakia - Malta 19:45 Sweden - Estonia 20:15 Croatia - Cyprus 20:45 Belgium - Australia 20:45 Italy - Netherlands 21:00 France - Spain Download the MaltaToday App now The First Ever National Aquathlon Championships in Malta THE Malta Triathlon Federation will be organising the first-ever Malta National Aquathlon Cham- pionship this month, on Wednes- day 2014, at Marsaxlokk. The Aquathlon Championship shall be disputed on the Stand- ard Distance, which consists of a 2.5KM run, followed by a 1000m swim and concluded by a 2.5KM run. The race will start at 5:30pm in front of the Marsaxlokk Water- polo Club. Aquathlon, together with duath- lon and triathlon, the three most important aspects of multisport. The International Triathlon Un- ion, the global governing body of multisport , has been organizing world championships for aquath- lon since 1997. 'The Malta Triathlon Federation aims at giving its members and partecipants the full opportuni- ties of racing different formats of multisport and therefore it has decided to include for the first time ever a National Aquathlon Champipnships during its sea- son. We are delighted to see a lot of interest in this t ype of mul- tisport and we are certain that this will not be the last time this championships will be organised ' said Cyprian Dalli, President of the Malta Triathlon Federation. In its aim to encourage more future generations of athletes to partecipate in multisport events, the Federation, together with its Malta Youth Triathlon Acade- my-MYTA, will be organising an aquathlon for kids and youths straight after the event. Race application forms can be obtained from the Federation's website w w w.triathlonmalta.org. On Monday 15 September a race registration and race briefing event will be held. For more infor- mation, one can reach the federa- tion on its hotline 7903 7933. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt