Looking Back 2024: Football: From politics to the pitch and the women writing the script

Football and politics have long been intertwined, but 2024 saw two former politicians make a notable impact: Joseph Muscat and Claudio Grech

Football and politics have long been intertwined. Silvio Berlusconi used his role as president of AC Milan to launch his political career, while George Weah, the prolific Liberian striker, went on to become president of his country.

In Malta, George Bonello du Puis and Robert Arrigo served as presidents of Sliema Wanderers, while Chris Agius held the presidency of his hometown club, St George’s FC. The list of politicians who have also been involved in football includes current Transport Minister Chris Bonett, who was vice president of the Malta Football Association, and Sports Minister Clifton Grima, who served on the committee of Msida St Joseph FC.

But 2024 saw two former politicians make a notable impact: Joseph Muscat and Claudio Grech. Former prime minister Joseph Muscat solidified his leadership of the Malta Premier League, the body representing top-flight clubs. Despite facing corruption charges in the Vitals hospitals case, club members gave him a vote of confidence in June, opting for him to stay on as chairperson.

The Muscat touch was evident at the start of the football season, with a new league format based on South American footballing systems. The league now has opening and closing rounds, replacing the traditional two-leg format that had been a mainstay of Maltese football. While football pundits and supporters remain largely confused about how the league winner will be determined, Muscat has stated that the experiment aims to revitalise the domestic league and make it “more attractive.”

“The format will not be the damnation or the salvation of Maltese football, but the commercial community has reacted positively to it, so at least the Premier League can now fend for itself,” he said at a press conference in April, shortly after UEFA, the European footballing body, approved the new format. The final verdict on the success or failure of the new league format will come next year, when the first such tournament concludes.

2024 also saw the return of former PN MP Claudio Grech. Two years after retiring from politics, Grech re-entered the public sphere as president of Valletta FC. He took the reins of the club at its lowest point in history. After a disastrous campaign, Valletta FC was relegated from the Premier League for the first time in its history at the end of the 2023/2024 season.

Saddled with debt and low morale, the club sought new ownership. In a three-way contest between former club sponsor Insignia, Britain’s Club Underground, and Grech’s 1943 Group, members voted for the latter. Grech brought a more grounded approach, moving away from the grand ambitions that some foreign investors have pursued with various Maltese football clubs over the years.

His target is to return Valletta FC to the top-flight – a goal that seems to be on track, with the team currently topping the Challenge League table. Grech has largely kept a low profile, shying away from media interviews despite leading Malta’s most popular football club, according to a survey by pollster Vince Marmara.