Malta FA holds Stop the Hate Convention to help address social issues and abuse

Photos by Joe Borg

The Malta Football Association’s Football Social Responsibility (FSR) Department recently organised an event named Stop the Hate (STH) Convention, forming part of its inclusive programmes within the UEFA HatTrick programme for 2025/26.

The event was held at Centenary Hall on Wednesday 19th March 2025.

Listed as one of the FSR’s inclusive projects with National Amateur League clubs, the STH project includes a number of on-site sessions at the aforementioned clubs. These sessions are based on a series of social issues and football, including amongst others child and youth protection, the UEFA Outraged programme, educational sessions on the prevention of match fixing, and also afterschool programmes within local football clubs.

This season, all National Amateur League clubs have dedicated captains’ armbands with the ‘Stop the Hate’ logo on them.

The convention was attended by all 26 National Amateur League clubs and included a panel discussion that featured Peppi Azzopardi, Women’s National Team Coach Manuela Tesse, referees Paula Buttigieg and Gabriel Oladipupo Ibunoluwu, UEFA Human Rights and Inclusion Expert Presilia Mpanu Mpanu, as well as South End Core’s Brian Chircop.

Photo by Joe Borg

Malta Football Association Head of FSR Peter Busuttil introduced the opening speaker, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef, as well as UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Director Michele Uva. The latter spoke about the importance UEFA attributes to social issues, particularly issues dealing with abuse on and off the pitch, together with all forms of racism.

The clubs participated in a discussion on hate issues in football on and off the pitch, while also engaging with the speakers on the panel. They also took part in a survey to gauge their opinions on hate speech in football.

Malta Women’s National Team player Maya Lucia provided her input by sharing her own experiences in dealing with such situations in football.

Closing the event, Malta Football Association Senior Vice-President Dr Matthew Paris highlighted the need to create a safe environment that allows everyone to enjoy the sport.

Photo by Joe Borg

“Stop the Hate is not just a slogan, but a movement that we are creating,” he stated.

“The aim is to ensure that we use social media platforms responsibly. It is okay to express our opinion, but it is definitely not okay to express our opinion in a manner which impinges or disrupts the rights of others,” he affirmed.

Dr Paris added that the aim is ultimately to educate football stakeholders, as “striking the right balance between freedom of expression versus respecting others is the best goal we can ever score.”