Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/709569
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 47 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION Darmanin Demajo confirmed as MFA president Darmanin Demajo, re-elected as Malta Football Association chief, insists Malta needs to have elite group of players abroad if success of similarly sized countries is to be emulated ANDREA ROSSITTO NORMAN Darmanin Demajo has been re-elected as Malta Football Association president after winning 86.5% of votes cast. Despite being uncontested he still required the majority of votes to retain his position. Darmanin Demajo got 116 votes while 18 club delegates voted against and 'id-DeDe' will now stay on for a third term which ends in 2019. Despite going back on a similar promise he made before this year's election, he said that this would be his last term. "I accept your trust with great humility. I will remain at your service. The MFA and Maltese football do not belong to me and I will do so with great humility, integrity and transparency," Darmanin Demajo said. Darmanin Demajo also made reference to the national team and said that if Malta aims at emulating the success of smaller nations, such as Iceland and Albania, who qualified for the European Champion- ships' final stages, "we need to at least have 20 professional players plying their trade abroad. "I believe that up to the age of 17, our players are as good as anyone else, but after that our system collapses. This is because our players are stuck at Malta's level while other countries continue developing their players at a higher level." In his speech during yesterday's annual general meeting, Darmanin Demajo spoke of his "dream" of creating a sports village in the association's grounds at Ta' Qali. He hinted that the government was will- ing to help finance the project and called for cooperation from all stakeholders. Chris Bonett, Alex Manfre and Ludovico Micallef also retained their positions as vice-presidents after seeing off the chal- lenge of Victor Cassar and Angelo Chet- cuti. Bonett received the highest number of votes at 119, while Micallef followed with 93 votes. Manfre took the third and final spot with 74 votes. Chetcuti received 58 votes while Cassar got 28 votes. Darmanin Demajo thanked all delegates and in a message to candidates who vied for some position or another, he said "if you have been elected I wish you all the best. If not, don't worry, you too make part of the big and beautiful football family." He also announced that after having a new trophy replace the FA Trophy, the new season will also see the premier League champions lift a new trophy. Clubs will also be encouraged to employ a full-time administrator and Darmanin Demajo announced that the association would organise training courses which will see administrators certified by the MFA. "Premier League clubs should at least have an office and full-time staff. If this is done seriously, the MFA is ready to as- sist the clubs by giving them €25,000 to strengthen their administration," he said, adding that if the scheme is successful this would be extended to other divisions. MFA finances strengthened In Saturday's annual general meeting, the MFA said it ended its financial year with a €1.6 million surplus. "The MFA generated a revenue of €6,127,178, an expenditure of €3,639,559, and a €710,505 depreciation, for a total of €4,340,064 by the end of March this year," MFA treasurer Ivan Mizzi confirmed. This means the MFA had a revenue sur- plus of €1,787,114, Mizzi continued, while presenting the financial report to the MFA delegates. This year, for the first time, the MFA's re- spective revenue and expenditure overall statements were issued after 10 months. It was also decided that its financial year would from now on be ending on 31st March. Maria Mifsud, deputy secretary-general of the MFA, explained how the MFA gener- ated almost €44,000, of which the majority was donated to the 'Football Social and Re- sponsibility Fund', voluntary entities, and non-governmental associations (NGOs). "The last six years of administration un- der Norman Darmanin Demajo were ex- cellent, except for the year 2012, when the MFA suffered an almost half a million euro deficit", Mizzi added. "I believe that up to the age of 17, our players are as good as anyone else, but after that our system collapses. This is because our players are stuck at Malta's level while other countries continue developing their players at a higher level." Norman Darmanin Demajo