Birkirkara FC to play Manchester United Women FC

by Ayrton Galea - 26th December 2022

Birkirkara FC Women's Team will be playing a luxurious friendly match against Manchester United Women FC on Friday, 6th January at the Tony Bezzina Stadium at 18:00hrs. This was revealed during a press conference at the Marriott Hotel & Spa, St. Julian's on Friday.

After facing Italian Champions, Juventus Women FC last July, the local champions will be playing another luxurious friendly match as they will face English Super League side, Manchester United FC, a foreign club that is among the most popular in Malta.

Helmut Amhof, the representative of FIFA Match Agent Johannes Empl and his company SLFC, said Manchester United Women were one of the top teams in England and their visit was a huge honour for the organisers. He added that one of the clear signs that women's football is growing is the fact that the last game between Manchester United and Manchester City attracted 41,900 spectators.

Malta Tourism Authority Chief Executive Officer Carlo Micallef said that after the MTA had identified an opportunity to organise training camps and friendly matches, Malta is now in a position to organise such training camps on a regular basis. Micallef said such training camps improve tourism in the winter months both in terms of visibility and the number of bed nights. He added that apart from football, the MTA is also focused on other sports including cycling, athletics, and waterpolo.

Micallef said that the work to give international visibility to our country and the VisitMalta brand is an aspect that is constantly being worked on. He added that Manchester United were a prestigious brand and the MTA, as the global official partner, has been working in England, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia in order to promote the Maltese islands.

Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo said that sports tourism was an important niche as it not only generated a large number of bed nights but worked great in terms of marketing. He mentioned the fact that the visit by Inter earlier this month saw the matches being broadcast in over 190 countries with millions of people following their visit on social media.

Bartolo added that the arrival of Manchester United Women in Malta was not only a great opportunity for Birkirkara players who will be facing one of the top clubs in England but also an opportunity for those who will be receiving mentoring sessions from Manchester United players.

The Minister for Tourism concluded by saying that success in tourism was thanks to the hard work of MTA in building such niches, adding that similar initiatives are in the pipeline to help raise the profile of Malta as a destination of excellence for sports tourism.

comments powered by Disqus