{"id":52999,"date":"2025-11-06T16:38:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=52999"},"modified":"2025-11-06T16:38:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:38:28","slug":"prime-minister-robert-abela-meets-with-young-athletes-of-the-national-school-of-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/prime-minister-robert-abela-meets-with-young-athletes-of-the-national-school-of-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Robert Abela meets with young athletes of the National School of Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Robert Abela, accompanied by the Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima, visited the National School of Sport (NSS) in Pembroke where he met with students who attend this school to specialise in their sporting disciplines. NSS is a secondary school that combines academic education with high-level sports training, with the aim of developing young Maltese athletes to reach a professional level in their sporting discipline. This school has a total of 241 students and offers training in 21 sporting disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>During this visit, Prime Minister Abela had the opportunity to meet students who have achieved results abroad, including Sophie St John who is currently achieving success in gymnastics. This school was instrumental in athletes such as swimmer Sasha Gatt who participated in the Olympics and footballer Hailey Bugeja who plays in Serie A in Italy reaching these professional levels. These achievements are evidence that our country is capable of having high-level athletes like any other country.<\/p>\n<p>During discussions with educators and school management, the Prime Minister spoke about the Government&#8217;s significant investment in education and sport. He mentioned how in this year&#8217;s Budget, the Government is planning to invest more than \u20ac13 million as part of the EDU Infrastructure Programme, to strengthen infrastructure and renovate colleges while creating modern and inclusive educational spaces. In this context, he also mentioned the extension of the free gym scheme for young people, which is now also including young people between the ages of 16 and 21.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister also explained how by the end of this year, around 20,000 digital devices will have been distributed to students in Years 4, 7, 8 and 9 to ensure equal access to technology. In addition, the Government will provide financial assistance of \u20ac500 to all families with students in Years 10 and 11 to further strengthen the Digital Strategy for Education.<\/p>\n<p>Initiatives such as the expansion of the Handball Pavilion project into a multifunctional sports complex and the official opening of new facilities such as the Marsa Sports Complex and the National Tennis Centre in Pembroke, demonstrate the Government&#8217;s commitment to promoting physical activity and holistic education.<\/p>\n<p>Photo: OPM\/DOI<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_52999\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"52999\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Robert Abela, accompanied by the Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima, visited the National School of Sport (NSS) in Pembroke where he met with students who attend this school to specialise in their sporting disciplines. NSS is a secondary school that combines academic education with high-level sports training, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_52999\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"52999\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 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class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-52999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-150x104.jpg",150,104,true],"medium":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-300x208.jpg",300,208,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_0x420":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_80x60":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-80x60.jpg",80,60,true],"td_218x150":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_324x400":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-324x300.jpg",324,300,true],"td_696x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_1068x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_100x70":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-100x70.jpg",100,70,true],"td_265x198":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-265x198.jpg",265,198,true],"td_324x160":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-324x160.jpg",324,160,true],"td_324x235":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-324x235.jpg",324,235,true],"td_356x220":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-356x220.jpg",356,220,true],"td_356x364":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-356x300.jpg",356,300,true],"td_533x261":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c-432x261.jpg",432,261,true],"td_534x462":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_696x385":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_741x486":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false],"td_1068x580":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PR251970c.jpg",432,300,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Prime Minister Robert Abela, accompanied by the Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima, visited the National School of Sport (NSS) in Pembroke where he met with students who attend this school to specialise in their sporting disciplines. NSS is a secondary school that combines academic education with high-level sports training, with&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53001,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52999\/revisions\/53001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}