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University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
Table of Contents
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Opening Message
3
Foreword
5
Introduction
6
Chapter 1 – The Importance of Sports in Youth Development and the advantages of Sports as a lifestyle. 8 Chapter 2 – A closer Look at the Local Scene.
11
Chapter 3 – Data Analysis
14
Chapter 4 - Proposals
21
PROPOSAL 1 – INVESTMENT IN SPORTS
21
PROPOSAL 2 – SPORT MALTA INCENTIVES
22
PROPOSAL 3 – PUBLIC-PRIVATE SPORTS SCHOOLS
22
PROPOSAL 4 – BALANCE BETWEEN SPORTS AND EDUCATION
23
PROPOSAL 5 – SPORTS SCIENCE HUB
23
PROPOSAL 6 – IMBALANCED OPPORTUNITIES
24
PROPOSAL 7 – SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS
24
Chapter 5 - Conclusion
25
Bibliography
26
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
Opening Message
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Throughout the years, the University of Malta Futsal Team has implemented several innovative and dynamic initiatives to ascertain that the organisation achieves a continuous growth as a student organisation whilst also being competitive in the futsal leagues organised by the Futsal Malta Association. As a student organisation, it was always difficult to attract students to follow us, especially since the organisation is not faculty-based. However, the enthusiasm of the executive committee always enabled the organisation to aim higher and to represent students as much as possible. Being the only sports organisation on campus competing in official league matches, the organisation felt that it would be seriously lacking if it did not take it upon itself to instill a social policy office and start participating more into issues which affect both sports athletes and students alike. It is for this reason that this year the Policy office was introduced within the UM Futsal Executive Committee. The objective of this office is to discuss and tackle problems within the local sports community. Formulating a plan for a new office without any previous experience within the field was never going to be an easy task. The office led by the Social Policy Officer managed to conduct various events to date relating with social issues that can affect both students and their relatives. With the consistent help and work of all members and various opinions from athletes within the futsal field, the organisation is proud to present a Policy Paper discussing Sports and Education, two important pillars within the community. With the publication of such a paper, the organisation is setting a stepping stone for future work within the policy office. In doing so, the organisation is keeping true to its commitment to be pro-active at the University of Malta and also within the sports sector. The organisation is always looking forward to expand its horizons and conducting informed and educated discussions between students and athletes at the University of Malta. The paper makes sure to give a perspective of these social issues faced by athletes by presenting first-hand experiences of these athletes. It is the organisations’ vision to present this paper to both Governmental Sports Entities and also the the Malta
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
tel: (+356) 79544434 Football Association in order to create healthy discussions on the proposals being
presented.
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Upon the presentation of this paper, UM Futsal will be providing the opportunity to discuss these topics on a national level and showcasing the students desire to be heard and be accounted for by sports institutions. This step should encourage more persons to voice their opinions in sports on a national level to implement changes leading to the growth of the sports industry and also education within the tertiary level. I would like to close off my opening remarks by congratulaing UM Futsal Social Policy Officer, Mr Hertian Salameh Cachia, for his sterling work throughout the year through events conducted leading to the issue of this policy paper. I would also like to encourage prospective readers of this paper to engage with us in discussions and voice your remarks within the discussed criteria and also the proposals being brought forward. This also extends to relevant stakeholders and associations, whereby together we can work towards a brighter future for local athletes and the sports industry itself. Thank you for your time.
KURT RIZZO UM FUTSAL PRESIDENT
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
Foreword
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When I was approached by the University of Malta Student’s Futsal Team’s executive to form the Social Policy Office I was very much looking forward to the task ahead. First of all, I must say that this feat was facilitated by my diligent predecessors, whom by their efforts shaped the Social Policy Office into what it is today. From the very first beginning of my term, the idea of a Policy Paper intrigued me to say the least, considering that it now has become customary for our organisation. However, the matter of complacency was not the only factor which contributed towards this Policy Paper. As a leading Sports Organisation on Campus, we shall also meet our duty towards promoting Social issues whilst also providing a proposed solution. In this regard, our organisation’s ideology was also to be vocal as possible whenever opportunity struck, encompassing the core principal of Student Activism. I am very proud to present the latest edition of Policy Papers by the University of Malta Student’s Futsal Team titled: “ An analytical and critical study of the Local Sports Scene: An assessment on why Maltese athletes are not elevating their discipline on a professional level.” As the title suggests, in the course of this Policy Papers, constructive criticism will be directed towards the shortcomings of the Local Sports scene. It is of utmost importance to note that the University of Malta Student’s Futsal Team have completed this study in good faith, and our only intention is to raise awareness on the issue and to see the implementation of policy where necessary. I would like to also thank Mr. Kurt Rizzo for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to conduct this study, my fellow executive members, whom without them any of this would not be possible, all the boys from our team and last but not least all respondents of the study for their contribution towards the completion of this policy paper. We hope that you shall find this paper fruitful and of relevance.
HERTIAN SALAMEH CACHIA UM FUTSAL SOCIAL POLICY OFFICER
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
Introduction
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The aim of this study is to fully comprehend to what extent, the limitations imposed on local athletes are at our date and time. Questions such as; how realistic is it for athletes to fully commit and elevate their sport or discipline on a professional level are discussed, and we shall also be exploring the relationship between this issue and education and fulltime employment. The latter shall be examined in regard to the possibility or even, the reality, that most athletes are leaving behind their respective sport in order to pursue a career in another section such as education or working full-time. There seems to be a common belief that amongst these three sections mentioned, sports is given the least importance. This can be backed up by the results of a specific question that was asked respondents to rank; education, full-time employment and sports by order as to how important to they believe they are from highest to lowest. This shall be discussed into greater detail in the data analysis Chapter of this Policy Paper.
In Chapter 1, we shall be discussing the importance of Sports in youth development, and not only the obvious health benefits that physical exercise brings upon oneself, but also advantages such as character shaping and attribute learning of useful life skills, from Sports. Later, in Chapter 2, we shall be taking a closer look into the current sporting scene in Malta. Things that are of relevance to the study is to establish the current numerical level of Maltese athletes that are considered to be professional and recognised on an international level, the level of possibility that one has in order to make it to professional sports and lastly to identify the main issues and limitations that are holding back Maltese athletes from pursuing their careers. Then, in Chapter 3 of the study, an analysis of the data collected from 127 athletes, or former athletes, which have responded to the questionnaire shall be analysed. Lastly, in Chapter 4 of the Policy Paper, I shall be using the data collected in order to construct a set of proposals and recommendations that can be implemented by policy in order to at least, start addressing the subject matter. One needs to be hopeful, but at the same time realistic. This is because the issue at hand is not an easy task to address nor to improve. When one implements change, it does not
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we believe that the first step towards change is to raise awareness on the issue whilst also presenting such concerns and frustrations towards the relevant authorities. Hence, as UM Futsal, we shall be submitting this Policy paper towards the University of Malta, which is, undisputedly, the biggest educational organ in the country, to the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation and last but not least to one of our main sponsors, J.Portelli Projects, whom is proudly sponsoring a number of Sporting clubs across the island in various different sporting disciplines.
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Chapter 1 – The Importance of Sports in Youth Development and the advantages of Sports as a lifestyle. tel: (+356) 79544434
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“Sports is particularly key to youth development. Physical education, physical activity, and sport, in general, contribute to the development of soft skills and impart values such as teamwork, solidarity, and respect, all of which are crucial to building peaceful and cohesive societies.” - United Nations.
In a study conducted by NASCA, it was found that sports is beneficial to youths by developing life-long skills such as; Commitment and understanding the consequences of not meeting commitments, Communication skills, Problem solving, Team Work, Dealing with stress and Goal setting and future planning. The UNESCO has even created a task force: the UNESCO Youth and Sport Task Force, for the sole purpose of providing youths with a safe place to discuss issues such as sport in the same atmosphere as other important issues such as gender equality and climate action. Sports can be used positively, when youths obtain physical and social skills, and then transfer them to other areas of their everyday life. In doing so, they would be improving their future well-being.
Positive youth development occurs when children's values, beliefs and life-skills are proactively strengthened to enable maturation into well-balanced, optimal-functioning individuals (Gould and Carson, 2008). Whilst researching the subject matter, I found that in order for youth development to be positive, youths need to have the correct motivational climate. According to (Dweck, 1986), The motivational climate is created through the way that influential adults define success; consequently, shaping how children interpret their efforts toward achieving goals.
The latter quote explains exactly how sports is able to develop youths in life-long skills such as goal-setting, teamwork and determination. There is no better environment than that
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tel: (+356) 79544434 of sports in order to reach this so called motivational climate. Of course, this responsibility email: info@uomfutsal.org
relies on coaches and other sporting staff in order to accurately represent this environment to young athletes, but if done correctly this can be very effective. There can also be an argument that for some youths this kind of development is more beneficial than their academic studies, because not every young student is interested to pursue the same career path and it may be the case that these students are paying more attention during physical activities rather than in the classroom.
One also cannot help but mention the health benefits of performing regular physical activity from a young age. Especially in a country like ours where our obesity rate is very high. A study published by the World Health Organisation in 2016 shows that 39% of adults aged 18 or older are overweight, while 13% of the same age group are obese . As a country we must face the fact that this is no coincidence and this is a fact that over the years can easily worsen if do not start taking physical activity and healthy-living more seriously. This goes hand-in-hand in emphasising the sporting sector in Malta is still very much lacking in the basics, let alone producing professional talent. Firstly, as a country, if we cannot even guarantee the health of our citizens, by practising sports, we must not expect that the industry is running somewhat close to a high level.
However, one cannot deny that sports develops a sense of discipline and resilience to fight against all odds, in oneself. Sports is not just a hobby, but a discipline. When an individual follows their respective sport religiously, that is a way of life. By instilling this kind of mindset in youths, it is very beneficial in the fight against obesity since one would be determined to stay healthy and also leads to a firm and successful life as a young adult with skills and disciplines that can be used in the workplace.
In an ideal situation, the previous mentioned objectives can easily be reached, however, as we shall see in the next chapter of this study, the situation in Malta is nowhere near this simple due to a number of unfortunate geographical and sociological facts, and also
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tel: (+356) 79544434 due to a number of shortcomings created unintentionally by society. What is certain is email: info@uomfutsal.org
that the popular opinion amongst the local population is that Sport is second nature and must not be given utmost importance. As long as this mentality persists we shall definitely not be seeing any improvement both locally and on the international scene. As an early consideration in this study, in order to even start comprehending the importance of Sport, firstly, we must take a look at sport from a different light and allocate the appropriate resources that it deserves.
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
Chapter 2 – A closer Look at the Local Scene.
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One cannot deny that in Malta, the most popular sport is football, with confirmation coming from the Malta Football Association itself in a survey published in 2018. Out of 1,008 respondents, both male and female, 50% stated that follow football, with 74% of male respondents stating that they played the sport at a point in their life, and 22% said that they still practice the sport till this day. The public opinion is heavily swayed towards football at 50%, with second place in the survey belonging to motorsport which only managed to gather 8% of respondents. The reason for this mention is to now take a closer look and compare and contrast Malta’s position in comparison with other countries at developing its most popular and followed Sport.
In a report published by UEFA, the biggest governing authority in football, in the UK, clubs spend an average of 6.1 million Euro on their football academies alone. When comparing that sum of money to Maltese nurseries, the maximum budget is 0.5 million euro, let alone our average, and to make even matters worse, as per report, 47% of this budget comes from contributions by the players’ parents and club members. Of course, this is not just a problem in football, nor is it just a problem of funding,
As discussed earlier this year, in our contribution towards the Gender360 Seminar, the study focused on how various local athletes from both genders face various obstacles such as equal opportunities, investment and funding and social perceptions. In that particular study data showed respondents stating that firstly, locally there is a lack of opportunities, and secondly, even such opportunities are met with a solid brick roof, that very few athletes have managed to break-through so far. Currently, the only ray of light that Maltese Athletes have, is to get appraisal for their efforts internationally. It is a shame in of itself that most promising local athletes try to pursue a career elsewhere instead of showcasing their talents before their peers.
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But in reality, who can blame them ?
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Every athlete that excel at their sport wishes to receive adequate recognition and adequate monetary compensation for their time and effort that they put in, in order to achieve a desired result. According to the (Sportseconaustria and Lead, 2012), the average annual salary of a professional athlete in the United Kingdom is 33,000 Euro. When comparing that same criteria to the local scene, that same athlete would now be earning only 22,000 Euro.
This factor plays a very big role when an athlete faces an important decision in their life, between doing something that he loves and financial stability. Currently, these to things are not simultaneously present in the local scene. In fact, as we shall see in the next part of the study, most former athletes state that the biggest reason that they have to stop practising their respective sport, was to pursue a career in another sector that provides more financial stability and can maintain said person much better than professional sport.
Another factor which plays an important role in stopping an athlete from going professional are injuries. At the moment, Malta can do much more in injury prevention and injury rehabilitation. We are facing situations where promising athletes are having their career cut short because after they face a serious injury, most clubs do not have the necessary resources and funding to make sure that the athletes recovers fully, both physically and mentally from that injury.
Chapter 3 below takes a look at data gathered from local athletes and analyses the perceptions of these athletes from different sports being practiced.
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University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
Chapter 3 – Data Analysis
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In order for the study to be more authentic, we wanted to get a general idea of what current and former athletes believe the current situation really is. In order to do so, a questionnaire was constructed of ten questions, to which a total of 127 respondents participated in. This questionnaire was distributed publicly within a time span of seven days. Every respondent and response gathered for the purpose of this study is anonymous and no member of the UM Futsal team has access to such data nor such data exists.
In the first question, respondents were asked a question pertaining their gender to which out of 127 responses, 64% were male, 35% female and 1% identified as X. This question was included for the sole purpose of comparison between genders at a latter part of the data. The second question pertained age. Out of the same number of respondents 49% were between the ages of 21-26, 40% were 15-20, 9% were between 27-32 and the age brackets of 33-45 and 45+ collected 1% of respondents each. Once again this question was included for the purpose of data comparison.
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
tel: (+356) 79544434 Interestingly, out of the data collected, all female respondents registered into the 15-20 email: info@uomfutsal.org
and 21-26 age brackets only. This could be for a number of reasons, but pre-dominantly, the ages of 21-26 could be the ages were socially women start to focus on other aspects of life such as a full-time career or starting a family and bearing children. Both of these socio-economic factors could possibly hinder women in sports and could be the reason why their career falls short. On the other hand, male respondents managed to register on all of the age brackets, with 21-26 being the most popular.
In the third question, respondents were asked to name the sport that they practice or used to practice. To no surprise, the most popular answer, with 28, was Football since it is also the most popular sport on the island. In second place, with 9, was Futsal and third with 7 was Basketball. However, there were a variety of sporting disciplines with; Athletics, Badminton, Ballet, Bowling, Boxing, Crossfit, Dance, Pool, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Kickboxing, Netball, Rugby, Snooker, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Waterpolo and Weightlifting, all managing to register results.
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
tel: (+356) 79544434 In the fourth question, respondents were asked for the times per week which they email: info@uomfutsal.org
practice or used to practice their respective sport. To which, 47.2% said three times plus, 25.2% said two times per week, 22.8% said three times per week, and 4.7% said one time per week. When comparing this data between male and females, 48 out of 82 overall male respondents, stated that they practice their sport more than three times per week, whilst the most chosen category amongst females was that of two times per week, with 21 respondents out of 44 overall. Interestingly, amongst men, this figure decreases significantly as soon as the age bracket of 27-32 is reached. From the data collected, one can notice that as age is increasing, the number of times per week that sport is being practiced is decreasing.
Next, respondents were asked about whether they have ever planned to taking their respective sport to a professional level. Surprisingly, the majority, 55.9%, answered no. However, this can be explained by the following question’s results. When asked about the probability of playing Sports on a professional level in Malta, a staggering 70.1% stated that they believe it is very improbable of making it professionally. Unfortunately, only 7.1% of respondents believe that it is probable or even realistic.
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As a step further, reasoning was required in the following question. Most responses seemed to agree that this problem is due to a mixture of lack of opportunities, lack of funding and social perception. Some responses state; “The sports sector is not given that much importance in regards to income.’’ Or, “Level of most sports is low compared to
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tel: (+356) 79544434 other countries", meaning there's less money in local sport. "Outstanding athletes have to email: info@uomfutsal.org
leave the country to have a chance to be successful which is a tough decision to take at a young age (which is the best time for a chance of having a successful career in sports).” This respondent sums up this criteria perfectly when stating “You cannot earn a living with an athlete’s wage in the current time. Football is the most popular sport and yet most Football athletes in Malta work a full time job apart from their part time job in Football. The rest of the Sports categories such as Basketball, Rugby, Tennis etc. are not popular enough in Malta to have a wage let alone a decent one.’’
Speaking on the unfortunate perception of Sports a particular respondent claimed;
“In Malta we don’t take sports seriously. Sports is considered as a hobby rather than a profession, especially when it comes to schools and family support. Within schools, sports is not given much importance as it is not considered as an academic subject.When it comes to typical stereotypical Maltese families, it is often discouraged to pursue sports as a source of income. In general, Malta does not give enough opportunities for people to pursue sports as a profession.’’
Another complimenting statement to the former said; “Not enough importance is given to sports in Malta, Apart from the fact that young athletes are pushed towards education rather than making a living competing in sports related events.’’
Another respondent stated that “It is a very risky ambition as you would probably have to prioritize sports to the detriment of studies. Furthermore there are not much opportunities plus you must be of a high athletic level to be able to succeed.” Most answers seemed to support the claim that many view sports as being a detriment to education as the next couple of questions of the questionnaire will show.
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(+356) 79544434 Full-Time When respondents were asked to choose the most important out oftel:Education, email: info@uomfutsal.org
Employment and Sports, 57.5% said Education, 35.4% said Full-Time Employment and only 7.1% answered Sports.
Finally, when asked “Do you think that Education and the need to earn a living, play a role in the lack of professional athletes in Malta ?” , 91.3% of respondents said yes.
University of Malta Futsal Student House, University of Malta, TalQroqq Msida - MSD2080 - MALTA
tel: (+356) 79544434 This is further amplified by the data collected in regards to the following question: "In email: info@uomfutsal.org
Malta, Athletes quit their respective Sports and Disciplines at an early age, in order to pursue other sectors of life."
92.1% of respondents agree with the above statement which represents the majority of the cohort participating in this study. This means that only 7.9% of respondents believe that athletes quit their respective sport not due to educational reasons or to pursue another professional working career.
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Chapter 4 - Proposals
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As stated earlier, this Policy Paper focuses on three aspects were the Maltese Sporting scene is currently lacking; Opportunities, Funding and Social Perception. In implementing Policy, one needs to be realistic that such drastic change will not occur overnight, and consistency is key. From the three above issues, the most difficult to change and improve is Social Perception. Perception will ultimately change if Opportunities and Funding improves in order to produce better results and more frequent success stories. If this happens, the general Public Perception on Sports will improve.
Proposal 1 – Investment in Sports
Firstly, there needs to be an investment to create better development in Sports. The reason for saying this is that we all know that in a small country like Malta the resources are limited, so one needs to broaden its reach whilst still investing locally. Many successful sporting clubs prefer short-term success by investing in foreign players, than long-term success and satisfaction by producing and developing home-grown talent. In all honesty, one cannot blame these clubs for doing so because it is cheaper to invest yearly in foreign talent and have more frequent success. However, if say these clubs are rewarded with incentives it would be much more attractive to invest in local talent. Thus, the government can create a scheme where clubs are rewarded for having the maximum available local talent achieving results and reaching their goals. These incentives must not stop at club level, but the athlete must be rewarded as well if Sport is to be seen as worthwhile and self-sufficient. As per money being distributed locally to football clubs for the development of young talent, this idea should be implemented cross-sectorial and other sports are given incentives in developing young local talent.
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Proposal 2 – Sport Malta Incentives
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Currently, Sport Malta are undergoing projects which are currently improving local facilities within various sports spectrums locally. Apart from this, Sport Malta also has various Assistance Schemes helping National Organisations, Clubs, and also athletes in certain funding mechanisms. Although this has already benefitted many athletes, we still feel that more needs to be done to target specific sports programmes across the island. In particular, we have seen a hefty investment in football facilities, however, there are still associations such as badminton and futsal who have been for years waiting for a 'home; whereby they can have their own facilities and give the clubs the space required where to train. Furthermore, certain assistance schemes should be also available to a wider range of athletes on the island and not enclosed to certain sports categories. Additionally, marketing has not yet reached certain athletes as these assistance schemes have not been educated well enough across other sport cultures.
Proposal 3 – Public-Private Sports Schools As the investment was done for the National Sports School, we have seen that such programmes have left their mark on local athletes. This has been a testimony of various local athletes competing against other countries in tournaments and ranking high within their categories or even winning the competition. It is highly regarded that the public sector should cooperate more with the private sector in securing funding to open more focused schools in ensuring that talent is not lost along the years. Currently the National Sports School cannot accept all applicants, and thus, their is talent being lost. It is widely regarded that having more specialized schools would help athletes in reaching their true potential, especially when such talent is nurtured from a young age. Private companies such as J.Portelli Projects and many others have throughout the past years helped many local clubs and associations, and thus, this
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tel: (+356) 79544434 collaboration would enhance the probability of having more specialised options for
athletes whilst making sure that talent is not lost.
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Proposal 4 – Balance between Sports and Education
Locally, Sport cannot compete with financial benefits that education brings with it. Many athletes in the study have been faced with the decision to either continue their sporting career or else continue their studies at tertiary level. With its own sacrifices, a tertiary education, locally, is currently more attractive due to the financial aspect an individual will make in their own career. With the Government combining the Ministry with Sports and Education, this should be the perfect time in order to find the right balance between these two core pillars in our society. There must be specialised programmes within the University of Malta that allows atlhletes to continue flourishing in their own sport sector, even through scolarship programmes funded by the private sector. Furthermore, additional incentives whereby athletes are given permission to develop their sporting sector whilst foollowing an educational programme should also be developed, thus allowing indiviudals to develop both as an athlete and also pursuing an educational programme.
Proposal 5 – Sports Science Hub The study has also shed light upon the aspect that many athletes have stopped pursuing their sporting career due to injuries. A pivotal pillar that the country should develop is a specialised Sports Science Hub whereby through the use of professional assistance and also technology, athletes are given the opportunity to recover from injuries in the best possible manner. This core pillar should enable athletes to recover and minimise athletes who are lost throughout time due to injuries which weren’t treated in the best manner.
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Proposal 6 – Imbalanced Opportunities
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When Athletes speak about lack of Opportunities, they are being met with more disconcrete solutions such as heavy investment in one particular Sport, such as the heavy imbalance that seems to be getting worse between Football and other Sports in the country. When Athletes are voicing their concern about lack of opportunities, it must not definitely mean that there is not enough time and proper facilities in order to practice their respective Sport, but from the findings of this study, it is to be believed that they feel like there is not a proper road-map in place for the development of a young child interested in Sports to an adult professional athlete. After so many years, many still strongly believe that nobody has yet paved the way significantly in order for firstly, social perception to change and secondly, for athletes to be convinced that Sport does indeed offer a similar if not better financial benefit than Full-Time Employment.
Proposal 7 – Societal Perceptions Lastly, one cannot emphasise greater the importance of Societal Education on this matter. In Malta, it is still evident that parents are still brain-washing their children into choosing other sectors of life rather than Sports. This is made popular with notorious phrases such as ‘Sports will get you nowhere’ or even the prevention of students by parents from choosing subjects such as Physical Education or even worse attending specific Sporting Programmes such as offered by the National Sports School. It is imperative that educational programmes are given to children at a young age, encouraging them that a sporting career can be achieved and sports can be viewed as a job. However, to achieve this, one must recognise that truly sports need to make that shift in becoming a true source of income, and more financial, logistical, and medical help is attributed towards local athletes.
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Chapter 5 - Conclusion
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In Conclusion, UM Futsal believes that a shift in mentality will result in athletes being more open for a life-time career of Sports, which will ultimately aid Public entities into being able to implement Policy, such as Education and Incentives. Education is more of a longterm Policy implementation because it will lead to results that can be enjoyed by many generations to come, whilst Incentives will also allow short-term growth if such incentives are refined and kept up to date. As a final closing remark, as one of the main Sporting Organisations on Campus, we strongly believe that the University of Malta can play a vital role in achieving such goals with influence spanning all throughout a young athlete’s life. Although such phrases have been exhausted, it must be said that much more can be done and much more importance must be given in order to reach a holistic level of improvement that is sufficient for the needs and wants of Maltese Athletes in order to be able to obtain a professional level, as it is our duty to do so.
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Bibliography
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Dweck, C. S. (1986) ‘Motivational Processes Affecting Learning’, 41(10), pp. 1040–1048. Gould, D. and Carson, S. (2008) ‘International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology Life skills development through sport : current status and future directions’, (March 2013), pp. 37–41. doi: 10.1080/17509840701834573. Sportseconaustria, S. and Lead, P. (2012) ‘Study on the Contribution of Sport to Economic Growth and Employment in the EU’, (November). https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2020/09/11/uefa-report-highlights-premierleague-clubs-top-academy-spends-e6-1m-year/ https://mfa.com.mt/en/news/news/3564/uefa-study-confirms-football-as-most-popularsport-in-malta.htm https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
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possible, including exec members, technical staff, and also the players. Your contribution is highly appreciated. Additionally, we would also like to thank our sponsors for their continuous help throughout the year and for believeing in our vision.
