London 2012 Maltese athletes meet Clyde Puli

Parliamentary Secretary Clyde Puli met with the Double Trap World Champion William Chetcuti, who will be Malta's flag-bearer in the London 2012 Olympics. Puli met Chetcuti during a training session, the double-trap shooter held before departing to London.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Sports and Youth also met with four other Maltese athletes - Rachid Chouhal, Diane Borg, Nikki Muscat and Andrew Chetcuti.

Puli congratulated Chetcuti and pledged that the government would continue working to promote sports in Malta, as it had been doing throughout its legislature, including the Youth Development Scheme, Sports Competition Leave for professional athletes, and the 20/20 Sports Training Schemes for workers in both the private and the public sector.

He explained that the government also established a Sports Unit within the Armed Forces of Malta, where athletes are recruited into the army and train for up to 40 hours a week in their preferred discipline. William Chetcuti is one of the first athletes to be employed within this unit.

Puli added that later this year, the first National School of Sports will be opened, and scholarships will be granted for athletes specialising in sports. He added that the government is investing €8 million in 26 different initiatives concerning sports.

"These initiatives show that the government is working hand in hand with athletes from the initial stages of development, to the point of participation at international level events where athletes make the country proud," Puli said.

He augured the best to the Maltese athletes participating in the London games and reiterated the government's commitment to the development of sports in Malta.