by Malta will be playing host to the Visit Malta Women’s International Friendlies Tournament between the 22nd and 25th of February, which will include Malta’s National Women’s Team, Belarus, Albania and the Faroe Islands. Malta will be competing against the Faroe Islands and Belarus on the 22nd and 25th of February at 18:00.
The Tournament
Malta’s Women’s National Team will be competing in the Visit Malta Women’s International Friendlies Tournament to be held between the 22nd and 25th of February, together with Albania, Belarus and the Faroe Islands.
The tournament is organised by Q-Media, represented by Helmut Amhof, in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority, who was represented by the Chief Executive Officer Carlo Micallef and the Minister for Tourism, Hon. Clayton Bartolo. National team coach Manuela Tesse completed the panel for the announcement of the tournament.
The tournament will kick-off on Thursday 22nd February with the match between Albania and Belarus at 2 pm. Malta will play against the Faroe Islands at 6 pm on the same day. The second matchday will be on Sunday 25th, which will begin with the game between Albania & the Faroe Islands at 2 pm, followed by Malta against Belarus at 6 pm. All matches will be played at the Tony Bezzina Stadium.
A block ticket will be sold, costing 5 Euro, which allows ticket-holders to attend all matches. Tickets for children and seniors are reduced at 3 Euro. The first block of tickets are already available for purchase online.
Q-Media’s Helmut Amhof explained the ticketing decision, “We chose the block ticket and decided to keep it at what I think is an acceptable price to motivate people to attend all matches.”
TVM Sports+ will be broadcasting the matches of the Maltese national team, while there will also be livestream links for those matches pertaining to the competing countries of Albania, Belarus and the Faroe Islands.
Helmut Amhof, introduced the tournament as one becoming a tradition, while applauding the success of the Malta Women’s National Team in the UEFA Women’s Nations League, which continues to provide the platform for the growth of the sector domestically.
Amhof said the tournament will use the facilities of Tony Bezzina Stadium, Ta Qali Training Grounds and Salinos Resort, as per the previous friendlies organised including that between Manchester United Women and PSV Women in January.
Coach Manuela Tesse referred to the importance of the upcoming friendlies in preparation for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League and EURO Qualifications. “It presents a good opportunity to prepare for the future. We are going to compete in League B in April, which will be tough, and so this will help us to prepare.”
Speaking about amalgamation of the sports and tourism industry, Tesse referred to her Sardinian roots in understanding the benefits of an island like Malta to promote both together. The Malta Tourism Authority Chief Executive Officer, Carlo Micallef referred to the fourth edition of the tournament as one that continues to show the authority’s investment in the sector to grow tourism in line with sports. Minister for Tourism, Hon. Clayton Bartolo, concluded the press conference noting that the tournament ensures a stream of tourists in an otherwise off-peak period, while providing a socio-economic platform in the amalgamation of sports with tourism.
The Competing Teams
The tournament provides an opportunity for the competing teams to test new ideas, players and brush up ahead of the upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League & EURO Qualification Phase.
Malta goes into the tournament as the team promoted to League B during the previous edition of the UEFA Women’s Nations League. Albania and Belarus are two teams that placed bottom in their groups in League B in the previous round, and will thus be competing in League C in the upcoming phase. The Faroe Islands did not manage to earn any points during its League C commitments in the previous round and will thus remain in League C.
Belarus are the highest ranked team from all those competing, standing at 57th place in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking. Albania follows suit in 73, while Malta is ranked at 86. The Faroe Islands dropped to 110 following the previous UEFA Women’s Nations League commitments.
Lead Image: Malta Football Association
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[…] senior Women’s National Team will be playing two friendlies in the Visit Malta Women’s International Friendlies tournament, starting against the Faroe Islands tomorrow and then playing a match against Belarus on […]