Football in Malta : the turbulent years of peace and war

Abstract

When the volunteer-administrators sallied forth to give the game some semblance of order and a measure of discipline, they soon found that teething problems were many and varied, and were soon holding a rather undisciplined baby in their arms. However, patiently and with much tact they soon found that a formula based on common sense and a measure of compromise, would help them decide in the many instances of "abandoned matches" when crowds stormed on to the pitch, when referees, all recruited from the Services, gave the wrong decision, the hibernation of clubs, plus the free movement of players from one club to another. That the game not only survived, but grew in stature, was mainly due to this policy of semitolerance, with the result that more and more people became attracted to the game, and despite the fact that many decisions taken by the M.F.A. were not always popular, bigger and bigger crowds, averaging some six thousand for every important match, began to be registered.