Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/791658
maltatoday SUNDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2017 Sport 52 FOOTBALL VOLLEYBALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE BORG MFA commemorates the 60th anniversary of the national team's first official international match THE Malta Football Association organised a reception to commem- orate the 60th anniversary of the national team's first official inter- national match. 60 years ago to the day, Malta played a friendly match against Austria at the Empire Stadium in Gzira in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000 fans. Malta lost 3-2 with Tony Cauchi and Sammy Nicholl scoring the goals in the closing stages. At the commemorative event, held at the VVIP Lounge of the Na- tional Stadium, the focus was on that historic occasion and the play- ers who were part of it. The MFA honoured the members of that team who are still alive, five of whom, Lolly Borg, Tony Cauchi, Joe Cilia, Joe Cini and Victor Scer- ri, attended the reception. Nazzareno Alamango, who was part of the squad called by then national coach Joe Griffiths for training ahead of the Austria game, was also present. MFA President Norman Dar- manin Demajo read out a message of congratulations sent by FIFA President Gianni Infantino for the occasion and presented com- memorative gifts to the veteran stalwarts. The gifts included a silver frame containing a colour photo of the Malta team for that 1957 game, a bottle of wine from a limited edi- tion of 60, a national team shirt and an exact replica of the original match programme. A video clip commemorating the 1957 Malta-Austria game was also shown during today's event. San Marino training camp for national volleyball team MALTA'S national female vol- leyball squad has arrived in San Marino to take part in a training camp. The training camp will take place in the same venue where Volleyball will be played during this year's Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), which will be held in this country later on this year. The indoor volleyball team has been training regularly for the past months under the direction of Na- tional Team Coach Edvaldo Car- valho da Silva, while the beachv- olley teams have also commenced their preparations. During the San Marino training camp, the Malta girls will also be playing 2 friendly matches against San Marino, the host country's national team and the team of Gabicce. Last weekend the national squad played a prepa- ration match against Austrian side Bruckl Hotvolleys at the Cotton- era Sports Complex. The Maltese team won 3 – 1. Malta Volleyball Association President Jesmond Saliba stated that the return of the national team after 5 years for indoor vol- leyball together with beach volley- ball is an important step for the fu- ture of volleyball in Malta and has been welcomed by the entire local volleyball community, and should serve to motivate further all those practicing this sport, particularly the younger generations. Mr Saliba also referred to a par- allel initiative focusing on the me- dium and long term, namely the MVA's Youth Talent Development Programme. He explained that the aim of this programme is to identify the best youth volleyball talent, and in collaboration with their respective clubs, assist in their development. These young players will form the basis for a pool of players from which the various youth national selections will be chosen in the future.