Malta, Albania, Belarus, and the Faroe Islands are to take part in the 2024 VisitMalta Women’s International Friendlies.
Women’s football will take center stage between the 22nd and 25th of February as four nations will take part in the annual VisitMalta Women’s International Friendlies.
Malta, buoyed by their success in winning promotion to League B at the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League, will kick off their commitments for 2024 with a friendly match against the Faroe Islands on 22nd February before meeting Belarus on the 25th.
There will be a total of four fixtures over two matchdays at the Tony Bezzina Stadium with Albania, the other team participating in these friendlies, taking on Belarus on the opening day and the Faroe Islands on the second and final day.
Details about the 2024 VisitMalta Women’s International Friendlies, now in their fourth edition, were given during a press conference at the Centenary Hall on Friday.
MALTA PREPARATIONS
Manuela Tesse, Malta National Women’s Coach, highlighted the importance of the upcoming friendly matches ahead of the team’s opening commitments in the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 with the qualifying draw scheduled for 5th March.
“These friendlies are an important part of our preparations for the next international commitments,” Tesse said.
“We must keep up the progress and offer more positive emotions to the Maltese fans. I believe that our win over Latvia a few months ago provided this kind of emotion and my aim is for the National Team to keep offering these emotional experiences to encourage more supporters to come and watch our team”, Tesse concluded.
SPORTS TOURISM ON THE RISE
Congratulating the Malta women’s team for their feat, Hon. Clayton Bartolo, Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness, said the VisitMalta Women’s International Friendlies are a testament to the Government’s strategy to boost sports tourism, especially during the winter shoulder months.
“Our efforts to strengthen sports tourism are producing encouraging results,” Hon. Bartolo said.
“2023 was a record year in terms of the results achieved in the sports tourism niche, and thanks to the ongoing work of the Malta Tourism Authority, we are working to maintain and increase these initiatives.
“Sports tourism has socio-economic benefits and we are happy that we are also supporting our women’s national team through the organization of these friendlies.”
FOCUS ON WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Carlo Micallef, Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Tourism Authority, highlighted the country’s growing appeal as a sports destination and the associated benefits as underlined by the events held over the past two months.
“This is the fourth year that we are hosting these matches which also reflect our commitment to support women’s football as well as to facilitate opportunities for the women’s national team to play in international friendlies,” Mr Micallef said.
The women’s friendlies are the third sports event to be staged in Malta since the start of the year after the training camps by Manchester United Women and PSV Women, and the sixth edition of the Tipsport Malta Cup.
Helmut Amhof, representing Qmedia who is coordinating the organization of the friendly matches, said: “The support of the MTA is essential to organize these sports events which are generating a significant number of bed nights and great exposure for Malta,”
Mr Amhof said. “We would also like to thank the Malta FA for their collaboration which is equally important for the success of these initiatives.”
The friendly matches involving the Malta women’s team will be broadcast live on TVM Sport+ while all games will be streamed live in the countries of the visiting teams.
Fans can buy a block ticket for all four friendly matches for only €5, while the concession price for children and seniors is €3. For more ticket info please visit https://tickets.mfa.com.mt/.
