The Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) welcomes the recent amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) for youth and amateur footballers, approved by the Executive Board of the Malta Football Association on Monday.

These changes mark a significant breakthrough, vindicating the MFPA’s long-standing advocacy for fairer and more progressive regulations aimed at enhancing the rights and opportunities of youth and amateur players in Maltese football. The revised regulations are the outcome of extensive discussions initiated in 2020 within the Malta FA’s Social Dialogue Committee, a forum bringing together key stakeholders from Maltese football.

This progress was made possible thanks to the courage of two players who stood up for their rights by filing legal cases at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against their respective clubs, with the support of the MFPA and the FIFPRO Legal team. Their determination and the legal expertise provided by FIFPRO helped shine a spotlight on systemic issues affecting youth and amateur players. Following the agreement on the revised regulations, these two cases will now be withdrawn, a powerful testament to the impact of solidarity, legal support, and constructive dialogue.

The MFPA considers these amendments a vital step forward. Notably, the reduction of the obligatory registration period from four to two seasons for players aged 14 will help increase playing opportunities for young athletes, while also mitigating the risk of abuse and financial exploitation.

Importantly, the revised regulations will apply retrospectively. This means that players who have signed registration forms under the previous rules will also be affected by these changes. In these cases players will be required to sign the updated registration form in accordance with the new framework.

Dr Anthony Galea, President of the MFPA, said: “This is an important day for the MFPA, youth players and Maltese football in general. The amended regulations approved during the last meeting of the Executive Board of the Malta Football Association augur well for our future.

“This is a positive development for our young footballers to thrive and make progress in their career. We also hope that this is the first step to strengthen the conditions of our nurseries by supporting them to become more professional and achieve further improvement for Maltese football.”

Carlo Mamo, the MFPA General Secretary, said: “Grassroots, youth and amateur players have always been a priority for the MFPA. The purpose behind these amendments is to increase their playing opportunities but this will not only benefit the players but potentially clubs who may have been encountering difficulties to field teams and compete in all categories.

“The key objective is to enable young footballers to play more as well as to reduce the drop-out rate as data shows that, in certain age-groups, numerous players are stopping to play football.

“On behalf of the MFPA, we would like to sincerely thank the media for helping raise awareness over the past few months, the researchers, the Malta FA, the FIFPRO legal team, the brave players and their families who had the courage to take legal action, and the majority of clubs who continue to invest in youth nurseries, providing young players with valuable training and development opportunities.”

“Unfortunately, the system as it was gave an advantage to the few who were abusing it but posed a disadvantage to the majority of clubs who were working in an appropriate manner. Therefore, these amendments will benefit not only our members but football in general.”

Key Amendments at a Glance

Registration Period

• Reduced from 4 to 2 seasons for players aged 14 and older (covering age groups 14–16 and 16–18).

Commencement of Registration

• Players registering with the same club can only do so after the end of the season. A new registration form with a unique code will be introduced as from the 9th of June 2025. 

Professional Contract for Amateur Players

• Amateur players who are at least 18 years old and are offered a professional contract during their registration period may transfer to a new club during the summer transfer window. If applicable, training compensation must be paid totheir former club(s), but no other conditions apply.

Revision of Squad Lists

• A maximum of fifty (50) players who have attained the age of twelve (12) up to and including those participating in the U15 category may be listed.
• U17 teams may list a maximum of 25 amateur players.
• For players aged 17 and above, the maximum is 40 amateur players, unless the club does not participate in the Youth League in which case the limit is 25.
• All players who are not on the list are free to leave without any condition.