Tipsport Malta Cup: they beat the wind, the rain, and the coronavirus

You have been defeating the coronavirus in Malta for two years now, and the tournament has gone off unscathed every time. How does it feel to win against this insidious enemy?

One thing is covid, which we couldn’t have counted on when we set up the tournament four years ago. But I’m still pleased that we’re beating the weather. It’s been in our favor for four years, which I consider an equal victory.

This year the vaccines are in, we have learned to live with the virus, the tournaments are going on. We tried to create a bubble so no one would get infected. If it had still happened, it wouldn’t have been the problem it was last year. Fortunately, it didn’t happen.

You have taken the tournament further with international participation, in addition to the traditional Czech and Slovak teams and last year’s Austrian team, the Danish team has also joined. How far do you plan to expand it on the map?

It’s a kind of intermediate stage. Originally we were already working with a project with six participants for this year’s edition, unfortunately the covid ruined the expansion. Thanks to the help of the Maltese side, we had two foreign participants signed up, Slovakia is not one of them, so we left it at that.

It had the advantage that the teams on the preparation didn’t want to face opponents from their home competitions. In that sense, everybody liked it very much. However, our goal is not to have only two representatives from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we still see the main intention to allow our clubs to have a quality winter preparation in good climatic conditions, on natural grass with quality opponents.

Hopefully all these intentions will come together when we expand to six participants. Our ideas are two Czech teams and one Slovak team.

Do you think that the automatic invitation to the possibility of defending, i.e. to go to the island again for quality preparation, is a strong motivation?

I think so. This was also evident in Olomouc. Of course, preparing for the league spring is crucial for everyone, but they also take the result at the tournament seriously.

We had some observation from Sparta Prague, another partner club that the company promotes. Will you entice them to participate next year?

They’ve looked at everything, taken careful notes. We showed them around the hotels, got to know the top ones, Sparta will require service for European clubs. They saw the training areas, they liked them. We hope they will perform in Prague in the best colours. We’ll see how the management decides.

Do you plan to attract top foreign clubs as well?

It would be nice, we are not avoiding it. But we share our goals with the Maltese side. Our company pays for the participation of the Czech and Slovak clubs, plus it pays for all the arrangements for the tournament – referees, pitches, etc. The foreign ones have a contract with the Maltese side, we don’t get involved financially. I have no doubt that it is interested in getting the most attractive clubs here.

Do you feel there is a growing interest in the tournament from the domestic side?

Manager Helmut Amhof told us that other clubs have contacted him and that their officials have already noticed the tournament. The tournament is also gaining more and more publicity, one could say European publicity. It made headlines for the first time, there was a press conference before the tournament, and local television is interested in broadcasting it.

The Austrian and Danish sides have also sent journalists. It is becoming widely known. It is becoming attractive not only for Czech and Slovak clubs, whose stay we pay for, but also for others, because it guarantees quality opponents in the preparation.

Isn’t it a pity that more spectators couldn’t attend the matches?

It is. When Baník Ostrava was here the year before last, dozens of fans came to see them. When the covid measures are over, I believe they will come. Even the locals. And it’s being played in the beautiful national stadium in Ta’Qali, there’s nothing better.

Next year’s edition will be the fifth jubilee edition, and the World Cup in Qatar will bring some difficulties in organising it, because we don’t know in advance the available dates for the winter preparation. But we will try to fit the tournament into our busy schedule to suit everyone.