by The Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) announced that amendments suggested to avoid back-to-back fixtures in youth league competitions have been approved by the executive board within the Malta Football Association (MFA). The situation was put brought into the public eye when Swieqi United pulled both U21 and U17 squads from the finals last season. However, the MFPA has voiced the players’ split on the plans to move Assikura Women’s League matches to weekends and called for further discussion throughout the season.
A Problem Addressed
The agreement refers to a new schedule to avoid back-to-back fixturing of U21 and U17 matches which used to take place on weekends. The situation was brought sharply into light when Swieqi United decided to pull both the U17 and U21 teams from the back-to-back finals since their requests to re-schedule one of the matches fell on deaf ears within the MFA.
At the time, the MFPA publicly announced its support to re-schedule the finals, whilst also calling for discussions to remove such instances, not just when a trophy is at stake but throughout the season. In its statement, the MFPA voiced its concern that the fixtures “are scheduled to be played within twenty-four hours, despite FIFPRO’s recommended minimum seventy-two-hour break between matches.” The situation must be taken into the context that due to the small player pool, several players would have had to play both finals within twenty-four hours of each other.
Though the finals were not rescheduled at the time, prompting Swieqi United FC to pull the teams and make a formal request to the MFA’s Ethics and Compliance Committee, the MFPA’s recent announcement confirms that the problem has been addressed for next season. The association praised the fruitful discussions with the Women’s Department within the MFA to achieve this. The amendments were approved by the executive board within the MFA on Friday.
Consensus Still Needed on Scheduling of Matches on the Weekend
Meanwhile, the MFPA also made clear that the switch to move Assikura Women’s League matches to the weekend, in which a game would be played on a weekday and two on Saturdays, requires further assessment as the season wears on. According to the MFPA players are still split on the decision, with a considerable number still in favour of maintaining the previous schedules where the fixtures are played on weekdays.
The Sporting Fan understands that at least one of the reasons to move matches to weekends is to attract wider audiences. It would align the league with most of the footballing culture. On the other hand, there are fears of the move sparking several abstentions by senior players currently in the game, since scheduling on weekends interferes with their full-time jobs. One considers that since the league is not yet professional, players balance out their footballing commitments against full-time jobs.
Since the league is expected to start in August, and the decision to move the fixtures has been taken, the MFPA has called for discussions to continue throughout the season in an effort to address the situation as it develops.
Photo: MFPA
