UEFA Pro Licence discussions held in Malta

Prominent UEFA technical representatives have paid a visit to the Malta Football Association's Technical Centre at Ta' Qali in order to hold preliminary talks about the possibility of launching the first ever UEFA Pro Licence courses on the island.

The proposed course is designed using a competency and reality-based approach in a number of modules over an 18-month period, using club visits to support and enhance the learning process.

"For us in Malta, this is no doubt another important step towards the introduction of professional football here," said Malta Football Association (MFA) president Norman Darmanin Demajo. "The visit of UEFA Jira Panel member Dany Ryser and UEFA Head of Football Education Services Frank Ludolph was crucial in setting the concepts and timelines that will assist the Association in setting priorities that will be needed to reach our objectives. This visit also confirms the excellent work that the Technical Centre at Ta' Qali has been engaged in during the past few years, thanks mainly to the constant support that the MFA continues to receive from UEFA."

"The Malta Football Association Technical Centre was extremely satisfied with the positive outcome from the meeting with the UEFA representatives," added MFA Technical Director, Robert Gatt. "We are also glad that both recognised the progress of our coach education programme. We now await a positive reply from UEFA so that later this year we can start conducting our own UEFA Pro Licence course within the Malta Football Association. We are sure that once we start having more local UEFA Pro licenced coaches our football will improve considerably."

All prospective participants of the course must hold a UEFA "A" Licence. A decision on the project will be made by the UEFA Jira Panel meeting at its meeting in June.

"If all this transpires, Malta will be the smallest football nation to host the UEFA Pro Licence courses," summarised MFA Coach Education Director Stephen Grima. "Under the guidance of Mr Dany Ryser, we are preparing a detailed course concept, fully in line with the latest Coaching Convention minimum criteria and above; the concept foresees including study visits in professional clubs and also a study visit in Nyon hosted by UEFA as part of the Pro licence student exchange programme. We will strive to provide the best educational experience for our local coaches and believe that our coaches can benefit from such a course that would help us in our commitment to constantly improve our local game."