Birkirkara FC aim high targets

by Ayrton Galea - 11th September 2013

Birkirkara FC made a statement of their aspirations for the 2013-2014 season while presenting the Summer Transfer Window's signings in a press conference held at the Eurosport outlet, in Birkirkara.

The Stripes, who were quite active in the Summer Transfer Market, have the aim to win their second consecutive league title as confirmed by the Club's president Mr. Joseph Zammit.

During the press conference, it was also revealed that although the Summer Transfer Window is closed, Birkirkara will continue to strengthen their squad further more as they are expecting to make another two signings.

The Club's president, Mr. Joseph Zammit said that the Club took care to strengthen the squad's departments where weaknesses were identified last year. The Stripes signed three foreigners namely Demba Toure, Frank Temile and Brazilian Mathues Bissi. In the domestic scene, Birkirkara signed Daniel Zerafa from Hamrun Spartans while Terence Vella is back with the Club after spending the last eighteen months on loan with Mosta and Hamrun Spartans respectively.

Besides winning the Championship, the Club has plans to go further in the UEFA Competitions, as this time, the Club is seeking to write history by advancing more than the second qualifying round. This challenging target had the Club do an exercise with better preparations. The Club will evaluate the squad in the upcoming months before making any necessary signings in the January Transfer Window to be better prepared for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League.

Club's Vice-President, Dr. Adrian Delia thanked the Club's sponsors , while thanking Laferla Insurance Agency and BetClic who will no longer be kit sponsors. He went on by saying that small clubs like Birkirkara, and by small Clubs he meant not domestically but internationally, depend on sponsors. Unlike like bigger Clubs who get the majority of their income from TV rights and gate money, the situation in Malta is very different, since TV rights in Malta are almost inexistent while the gate money is a very small percentage of the Club's income.

Dr. Delia explained that the Club depends on three main sources which are the members and the supporters of the Club, the participation in UEFA Competitions and the Club's sponsors. He revealed that the Club reached a technical strategic partnership with a foreign entity, that is taking a lot of interest in the team. The idea is that there will be help particularly in acquiring foreign players, that would give more depth to the squad. The Club is looking for possible agreements not only in the Maltese league but even outside our island, to loan out the younger players to give them more experience.

Mr. Dorian Desira, the general manager of Mc Donald's which is the main sponsor of our Club said that they are glad that they have been the Club's sponsors for these last fifteen years. The commitment of McDonalds on both a global and local scale is that they promote a healthy life-style in sports, and this was one of the reasons behind sponsoring Birkirkara FC. He wished the Club all the best of luck and the same success that it achieved last year.

Club's Head Coach Mr. Paul Zammit said that it is a continuation of the project that he started with the Club four years ago. He said that it was essential that a Club like Birkirkara would have a strong set-up. Although today the Club held a conference to present the new players, the base of the squad, which was represented by Gareth Sciberras and Paul Fenech on the panel, deserve credit as this is what makes Birkirkara strong.

He went on by saying that is one of his personal objectives to improve Maltese football, and to lead to this, the local Clubs need to improve their set-up, as although there will be many sacrifices to be made, including financial ones, it is the only way forward.

Mr. Zammit said that although he is confident that the new signings will be essential to the squad, he made it clear that the door for Nursery products will remain open, like it was in the last four years. In fact, last season, he introduced no less than nine new players from the Under 19's Team.

The Club's Head Coach admitted that his players will be under pressure for every single match this season after winning the title but he believes that the squad will be prepared and must face each and every challenge to prove its strength and overcome this pressure.

comments powered by Disqus