Thoughts and happenings from a life on Malta

This post appeared in The Times of 04 January 2011

Further to the editorial of December 28, Testing Times For New MFA Administration, I would like to voice my own hopes for a new dawn regarding ticket pricing for international matches.

Two topics which have been dominating talk about local football over the years are the generally poor performances by our national team and falling stadium attendance, even when Malta is hosting a foreign team. No one likes to see their favourite team lose but what truly gets the supporters’ goat is subpar level of play.

It has happened before, albeit too infrequently, that the team in red leaves the Ta’ Qali turf with heads held high and to a standing ovation. Why? Because they would have fought for every ball and delighted the crowd with some intelligent manoeuvres. While always hoping for a miracle, we still show our appreciation when true effort is displayed, irrespective of the final result. What those inhabiting the terraces have not been accepting for quite a while now is the MFA’s expectation that we actually fork out money for mediocrity. Are we honestly expected to throw good money after bad plays?

Bearing this in mind, I make the following recommendation: the stadium ticket price for national team matches should reflect the points obtained. The first group game (World Cup or Euro qualifiers) should be free to the public. Then for every point gained, the admission price for the following games goes up by €1 or €2. In the event that Malta plays well enough to obtain a win and a couple of draws, it is guaranteed that people will be prepared to pay more to watch real, competitive action. On the other hand, if we remain rooted to the bottom of the table with a meagre tally, then the only way of getting people through the turnstiles is by selling tickets at slashed prices.

At the end of the day, it boils down to demand and supply. Supply quality games and demand goes up, which in turn inflates ticket prices. Supply poor results and demand plummets, dragging down the cost of a ticket.

HSBC - the world's local bank - has entered the fray in Malta's 20-year debate on whether to introduce divorce in this crumbling bastion of Christianity. Roadside billboards and posters on the sides of bus stop shelters have gone up around the island, clearly illustrating which side of the fence this bank is setting up its branches.

Take a look at this photo of their advertising campaign and the signs are there for all to see: two separate sets of keys; the key ring split in two; a divided house with one side reserved for the man and the other for the woman, as in the movie War of the Roses.

HSBC and the Divorce Debate

Today, this billboard is ostensiblypromoting their home loan scheme. Tomorrow, they may very well be encouraging us to take out a loan in order to pay for divorce proceedings or meet the financial settlement awarded by the court.

I have never been very comfortable in front of a camera or a microphone or especially when having to speak to an audience.  How can I ever forget that time in the mid-eighties, at the height of Malta’s political and constitutional crisis, when as a committee member of the Partit Demokratiku Malti (PDM) I was asked to be one of the speakers at a public meeting to be given in Pjazza Regina (Queen’s Square) in Valletta.  I was already in quite a state while waiting for my turn to step on the podium but the real trembling fit started the moment I began my talk on pluralism in politics.  No doubt the assembled group, which numbered no more than 25 curious passers-by plus the odd supporter and inevitable heckler, must have noticed my shivering hands in sharp contrast to the warm early summer weather.

So when I was approached to be interviewed on behalf of the school I work for (IELS), my initial reaction was to say no.  It was only on the insistence of some colleagues of mine that I relented.  There was no prepared speech or carefully thought out answers here, just a few minutes preparatory work with the interviewer and the camera started rolling.  This is why I am particularly chuffed with the result.

Hopefully my words or my looks will work their magic and attract more students to the school!