The UEFA European Under 17 Championship Finals – MALTA 2014 were offcially launched by the Malta Football Association, during a Press Conference held earlier today. Part of this tournament will be played at the Gozo Stadium,

MFA President Norman Darmanin Demajo set the ball rolling by welcoming all the stake holders and dwelt on the importance of the tournament itself and the opportunities that events of such scale will definitely create for the further the development of the local game, as well as for Malta as a country to further enhance its image on the international scene and promote Malta as a Brand.

Mr. Bjorn Vassallo, MFA Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, gave out a presentation highlighting the significance of the tournament, the initiatives being taken by the LOC to make this tournament a success, the promotion of the event and the logistics behind the organisation of the May 2014 Finals.

During the Press Conference the launch of the official Video and web pages were also launched.

Ever since the first edition in 1980, these championships have been the place where stars such as Thierry Henry and Luís Figo took their first step towards the limelight. And since the switch to U17 classification in 2001/02 the likes of England’s Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere, Spain’s Cesc Fàbregas, Fernando Torres and Gerard Piqué, France’s Samir Nasri, Germany’s Mario Götze and Toni Kroos, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Belgium’s Eden Hazard have followed in their footsteps.

Countries of the likes of Portugal, France, Turkey, Russia, Spain, Germany, England and the Netherlands, have won the competition in the past and such names are likely to be familiar when Malta will host the May 2014 event.

The event will without a doubt grab Pan European exposure and TV Channel EUROSPORT will own the rights for the LIVE Transmission of the matches being played in Malta.

The Local Organising Committee has appointed six local football personalities to act as Ambassadors for the tournament.

The ambassadors will be the five football players who have played more than 100 matches for the Malta National Team, namely David Carabott, Joe Brincat, Carmel Busuttil, Gilbert Agius and Michael Mifsud, and these will be led by none other than Fr. Hilary Tagliaferro.

The organisers said that tather than making costly efforts in trying to entice the public to buy tickets to come and watch the matches from these finals, its focus will go towards an open invitation to the various sectors of the local community. Therefore the Committee is embarking on a widespread campaign called REACH OUT.

REACH OUT will consist of a number of mini campaigns targeting the various sectors listed hereunder;

• NURSERIES ZONE – Local football Nurseries

• ONE-TIME ZONE – Youth Centres, Sports Organisations, NGOs, etc.

• FOOTBALL WITHOUT FRONTIERS – Open Centres

• EDUCATION ZONE – State, Church & Private Schools, M.Univ., J.C. & MCAST

• MEDIA ZONE – Media houses

• FOOTBALL FOR ALL – Grassroots & Special Olympics

• CLUB ZONE – Football Clubs

• OTHER – Local Councils, Hotels, Supermarkets, Volunteers etc.

Although the main focus will be to reach as many would be spectators as possible through its REACH OUT campaign, there will still be match tickets available for sale.

The LOC will issue for sale, both Single-match tickets and Block Tickets for the Groups Stage, as well as tickets for the Semi Finals and The Final.

All tickets will at the end of the tournament be eligible to participate in a lottery, with top prizes.

Details with regards to ticket sales, ticket prices and the lottery itself will be issued in due course.

The dates of interest are as follows:

31 March 2014 – End of Elite Qualifying Round

09 April 2014 – Final Draws

04 May 2014 – Arrival of Teams in Malta

09 May 2014 – Group Match-day 1

12 May 2014 – Group Match-day 2

15 May 2014 – Group Match-day 3

18 May 2014 – Semi Finals

21 May 2014 – FINAL.

MATCH SCHEDULE

GROUP STAGE

MATCH DAY 1 – 9th May 2014

The National Stadium – A3 vs A4 and A1 vs A2

The Gozo Stadium – B1 vs B2 and B3 vs B4

MATCH DAY 2 – 12th May 2014

The Hibernians Stadium – B1 vs B3 and B2 vs B4

The Gozo Stadium – A1 vs A3 and A2 vs A4

MATCH DAY 3 – 15th May 2014

The National Stadium – B2 vs B3 and A2 vs A3

The Hibernians Stadium – A4 vs A1and B$ vs B1

THE SEMI FINALS 18th May 2014

The National Stadium – S/Final 1 and – S/Final 2

THE FINAL 21st May 2014

The National Stadium.

For more details about the event and to watch the Official Video, visit the tournament Web Pages through www.mfa.com.mt.

Photograph by Dominic Aquilina.

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