The Malta Football Association hopes to be able to fill the 17,000 seats or most of them for next May's friendly international between Italy and Scotland.
The national stadium has been selected as the unusual venue for such a match which will kick off at 8.45pm.
The match organisers, San Marco Sports Events s.r.l., have found the full cooperation of the Malta Football Association which will be offering not only the venue, but also offering the usual services connected with an international football match played in Malta.
It is already known that there is a lot of interest among Scottish and Italian fans who will be coming over to watch the match, most of them perhaps combining a weekend break. Apart from that, several Maltese are bound to be attracted to watch the match at Ta' Qali, first because Italy enjoys good support locally, and secondly because several players in the Scottish squad form part of teams in the English Premier League.
Addressing a news conference yesterday morning, MFA secretary general Bjorn Vassallo said the match coincides with a great week of football. "Malta will be playing two friendlies away in Austria and the Czech Republic on 27 and 31 May respectively. On the 28th, there is the Champions League final, followed the next day by this Italy-Scotland friendly at Ta' Qali. This match will certainly form part of a feast of football in one week," he added.
Also addressing the news conference yesterday morning were former Fiorentina and Italy international midfielder Giancarlo Antognoni, who said that such a match will be useful for both sides. "Italy will be preparing for the Euro 2016 finals in France while for Scotland it will be a testing ground before they meet Malta next September in a World Cup qualifier at the same venue," he said. He also spoke about the Maltese national team led by Italian mentor Pietro Ghedin, adding that these days, it has become much more difficult to beat the Maltese national team than it used to be in the past.
Colin Hendry, a former Scotland international defender and who helped Blackburn Rovers to the English Premier League title in 1993/1994, also addressed the news conference and said that it will be useful for the Scots to visit the facilities offered by the MFA and work on other logistics in connection with the September match. "Preparations have to start earlier on such occasions, and this is why it should be very useful for the Scots who will be doing everything to qualify for the next World Cup finals," he said. And he added that it should be a great attraction for several Scots who follow the national team with great passion.
Scotland will be in Malta for a summer training camp at that time.
Also present for the news conference was former player Lorenzo Amoruso, an Italian who played for Rangers of Glasgow.
He thanked the MFA for its invitation and spoke about the Italian national team. "Although they are not among the favourites, they can rise to the occasion and transform themselves into a top side," he said.
Amoruso also said that Malta is becoming a winter haven for several teams who come here for training camps because of the exceptional climatic conditions. "It will be simply beautiful to be a spectator at this match next May," he said.
Stefano Pucci, representing the organisers, confirmed that there was already a request of 3,000 tickets from Scotland. He added that he expected another good number of requests from nearby Italy.
Norman Saliba, the MFA Marketing Manager, announced the prices for the match which will be the following:
North and South Stands: Adults €26; Children U-12 €15.
Millennium D and F stands: €50; Children €30.
West A and C stands: €75 (no tickets available for children).
West B VIP: €100 (no tickets available for children) – only a limited number available for sale upon request.
Moreover, a range of Corporate Seating Options are also being made available for the Stadium sectors at the Millennium Stand at Levels 2, 3 and the Sky Boxes.
It has already been decided that the South Stand will be reserved for visiting Scottish fans. West A, B and C will be on allocated seating. Elsewhere it will be on a free seating basis.
Saliba said that match tickets are already on sale as from yesterday and can be bought from the normal 10 outlets, including the MFA Offices at Ta' Qali and the GFA offices in Xewkija, Gozo.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/1MIJrEm
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