Malta FA in financial boost

04 January 2011 | Posted in Sponsorship, Soccer, Europe | By Tom Love

Online investment service company FXDD Malta Limited has signed a sponsorship deal with the Malta Football Association (Malta FA) and Malta Football Referees Association (MFRA).

The two-year deal will see the investment company sponsor the match and training kits of Maltese officials. President of the Malta FA, Norman Darmanin Demajo, along with head of the MFRA Lorry Sammut and Fiona Soler, finance manager of FXDD Malta Limited, signed and announced the contract at a news conference.

“This is a unique occasion,” Demajo said, “Thanks to the efforts of the people at the MFRA and MFA, we have reached agreement with FXDD Malta Limited for the sponsorship of the full kits of the Maltese referees.

“This is a very positive thing for Maltese football, one that fits into our vision to boost the local game. Refereeing is an important aspect in our plans to strengthen the technical centre as well as the proposed changes to the format of the local leagues currently under discussion.”

Demajo added: “The Malta FA treats the refereeing sector very seriously. We’re delighted to have linked up with FXDD who are willing to support Maltese referees. We’re looking at how the recruitment of referees is being done. We want to encourage more people to take up refereeing. It’s a challenging career but equally rewarding.”

“Our aim is to expand the pool of local referees. We want to provide extra motivation for referees as part of our commitment to raise the quantity and quality of our officials,” Demajo concluded.

Fiona Soler of FXDD added: “When the MFRA approached us, we saw the benefits of starting a relationship between the two parties,” Soler said. “We want to help to promote local referees.”

Demajo believes the deal bodes well for the Malta FA’s hunt for other sponsors. He said: “I’ve had encouraging conversations with existing and potential sponsors but I hope to translate these words into reality. We have many initiatives in the pipeline, including the idea to spread our matches across more stadia. We’ve been striving to make the MFA more open and accessible. I hope our efforts will lead to more sponsorship deals.”

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.