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Darmanin Demajo hails ‘persistence’ of football officials

Published: 20-07-2019 14:50
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Outgoing Malta FA President Norman Darmanin Demajo thanked all the football administrators and officials for their “persistence and resilience” in his closing address at the Annual General Meeting.  “My final word of thanks goes to all of you here today for your persistence and resilience,” Darmanin Demajo, who will be succeeded by Bjorn Vassallo, said. “In football, as in life, I think you always have a choice. You can choose to stay on the outside of football and become football critics or you can choose the route less travelled and join the ‘rare breed’ of people who are prepared to step out into the arena where things can be very difficult. “In this room, I see the absolute majority of people who had that choice, but who preferred to take the less popular route, and willingly walked into the arena.” Darmanin Demajo, who was given a long standing ovation, expressed his gratitude and appreciation to UEFA and FIFA for their constant support to national associations. “I would also like to take this opportunity to give a special word of thanks to two great organisations, UEFA and FIFA, for continuing to come up with assistance programmes that are vital for the survival of small associations like ours,” Darmanin Demajo said. “On a personal note, to Oliver (Jung) and Thierry (Favre), please accept my personal thank you, on behalf of Maltese football, for your direct involvement and intervention in our assistance applications.” Jung, representing FIFA, and Favre, from UEFA, together with UEFA Vice-President Michele Uva and Sofia Malizia (FIFA) were present for the AGM. Darmanin Demajo also conveyed his thanks to all the Malta FA officials and staff he worked with during his nine-year tenure.