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Hamrun Spartans Youth Nursery is once again organising the Annual Easter

Tournament dedicated to its Founder, Tony Bajada. The 11th edition of this Tournament

will inaugurate the Nursery’s 25th anniversary celebrations. The Tournament will once

again be an international edition with the participation of Athlone ADSL from Ireland

who will be taking part in the 1998 category. The Tournament, which will be held

between Wednesday 4th and Wednesday 11th April, is once again being organised with

the collaboration of the Hamrun Local Council.

In this year’s edition, a total of 13 local football nurseries and the Irish team are taking part in

four different categories: children born in 2003, 2002, 2000 and 1998. Matches in the younger

categories will be played on a round robin system without declaring any winners while the

1998 category teams will be competing for the Tony Bajada Challenge Cup.

In the younger categories, everyone’s effort is important to achieve what one would expect from such festivals. The

respective coaches should give all children enough time to play and the parents should leave their children enjoy the

time they spend on the field and encourage them through positive support. RESPECT THE OPPONENT ON & OFF

THE PITCH is the slogan being proposed for the tournament in order to promote fair play amongst all teams.

On behalf of the Organising Committee, the sponsors and the participating Nurseries, I would like to welcome

Athlone ADSL from Ireland for their first visit to Malta and their participation in this year’s edition of Tony Bajada

Memorial. I am confident that this will be a positive experience both for the foreign and local teams.

I would like to thank all the sponsors who have supported once again this Event and especially the Hamrun Local

Council for their collaboration throughout the year.

Noel Debattista

HSYN Secretary & Tournament Director

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25 years have passed since Tony Bajada, who became a great friend of mine through our

children who used to play in the same team, came up with the idea to set up a football

Nursery in Hamrun, an organisation that would encourage children from our home town

and help them increase their talent. It was always when and how his dream would come

through. Finally we decided to go forward and speak to Mr. Victor Tedesco, the former

Hamrun Spartans President, to have his views on Tony’s Idea. He Immediately accepted

our proposal and were offered one of the rooms at the Club’s premises. The first official

committee meeting was held on Wednesday 16th

December 1987.

Through these 25 years the Nursery produced many players with most of them making their debut in senior football

with the parent club Hamrun Spartans. Apart from their parent club there were players who made it in top flight with

other clubs.

Today, I have another ambitious project I wish to see completed, that of the Nursery premises extension. Together

with the hard working Nursery Committee we finally were given the green light from the MEPA to undergo this

project. Preparations to start the works are in final stages now and soon we will be laying the first concrete!

As I look back I wish to congratulate and thank all those committee members who year after year contributed in

Tony’s dream, whom today he is still in everyone’s heart. I wish all participants every success and enjoy this week of

football were the most important is that enjoy football while they learn, words Tony used to say in such Festivals!

Noel Attard

HSYN Chairman

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25th Anniversary, how years gone by….

I can still remember when, at a young age, my son Denis, my nephew Gilbert Mifsud,

Laurence Attard (the present Nursery Chairman's son) and other boys who came from

the locality of Hamrun used to attend football training sessions at "Skola Sport". Most of

the time, they used to be accompanied by their fathers and seeing that they were quite

a good number of boys, my husband Tony and present Nursery Chairman Noel Attard

made arrangements for them to play with Maltese and Gozitan teams. It used to be fun

for the boys as well as all the family as we used to go and watch them play and give

them our support.

The wish of my husband Tony, Noel and others was to have a Youth Nursery representing Hamrun Spartans Football

Club. It was not an easy task! However, the first committee was formed on 16th

December 1987.

One of the first tasks involved working hand-in-hand with the Executive Committee in the negotiations with the

Maltese Government to acquire the piece of land to build a football ground, which ground would eventually be used

by Hamrun Spartans FC Youth Nursery as well. Years later, after a lot of hard work and numerous meetings, the

football ground was built and named for the great gentleman who always wanted the best for the Hamrun Spartans

Football Club and supporters - Victor Tedesco.

Memories of these twenty five years, bring both joy and happiness. Most of all, one appreciates that a good number

of boys and girls benefited from the hard work of coaches and the hard voluntary work of officials and helpers.

Violet Bajada

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The town of Athlone is located in the very centre of

Ireland on the banks of the River Shannon and is the

thriving commercial and industrial capital of the Irish

midlands.

Athlone owes its origins to its position as an ancient

fording point on the River Shannon. A man-made

causeway across the river has existed since the year

1000 AD at least, while the earliest recorded bridge was

built in 1120. The first stone castle was erected in 1210

and from the mid-thirteenth century Athlone was a

walled town. Athlone was of huge strategic importance

with the famous two sieges of Athlone in 1690 and 1691

during the Williamite and Jacobite Wars in Ireland.

Today Athlone is regarded as the capital of the Irish

midlands. The town and its hinterland has a population

of around 25,000 and is a vibrant commercial, retail,

industrial and tourist centre. Athlone is also home to an

Institute of Technology on a 45 acre campus and has

more than 5,000 students.

The Athlone District Schoolboy/Girls League (ADSL) was

founded in 1977 and provides organised football for

1,400 young players for age-groups from Under-9 up to

Under-17.

Athlone has a long and very proud football history and

tradition. The town’s senior club, Athlone Town Football

Club, founded in 1887, is the oldest senior club in the

Republic of Ireland and Athlone was a stronghold of the

game outside Dublin in its formative years. Athlone

provided four of the first international team to represent

the country after independence at the 1924 Paris

Olympics and the first two captains of the Ireland team

were Athlone players. Athlone Town was the first Irish

club to win a UEFA Cup tie and its most famous day was

in 1975 when “beating” AC Milan 0-0!

Athlone also won two League of Ireland Championships

in 1981and 1983. Athlone has produced more Irish

internationals than any other town of comparable size

and football is the biggest sport in Athlone.

The team that will compete in the Hamrun Spartans

Tournament is drawn from the ADSL Under-14

Development Academy. This tournament is part of the

preparations for the Kennedy Cup which is the most

prestigious schoolboy tournament in Ireland and which

takes place in June. All the players are really looking

forward to their visit to Malta.

For more information on Athlone see www.athlone.ie

and for more information on the ADSL see

www.athlonesl.ie

ATHLONE - THE HEART OF IRELAND

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FREELANCE SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER 21413418 - 99475943

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Hamrun Spartans F.C. - 2011 Tony Bajada Challenge Cup Winners

The Officials with the respective Team Captains before the 2011 final

U.S. Triestina, Italy - 2011 finalists

Captain Luca Bugeja soon after

the presentation

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RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. Nurseries registered with The Youth FA, nurseries registered with the Gozo Football Association and foreign football schools/

academies/nurseries are eligible to participate in this Football Tournament.

2. Children born after 1st

January 2006, children born after 1st

January 2002, children born after 1st

January 2000 and children

born after 1st

January 1998 are eligible to participate in this tournament.

3. Before the start of the Tournament, each participating team taking part in the 1998 category has to present three copies of

Registration Forms. Thirty minutes prior to each game, the line-ups must be filled in in triplicate by each team and presented

to the Organising Committee. The Youth FA card of each player must be at the disposal of the event organisers. Officials of

teams participating in categories 2006, 2002 and 2000 have to present one Registration Form before commencing their first

game.

4. Each participating player has to play the entire Tournament with the same number as listed on the Registration Form.

5. In category 2006 every team may register up to ten (10) players, categories 2002 up to fourteen (14) players and categories

2000 and 1998 up to eighteen (18) players.

6. Category 2006 games are played on a four (4) v four (4) basis, category 2002 games are played on an eight (8) v eight (8)

basis, while games of categories 2000 and 1998 are played on an eleven (11) v eleven (11) basis. Each team can make use of all

substitutes. A player who has been substituted cannot enter the pitch again in the same game.

7. Duration of matches:

2006 Category: fifteenth (15) minutes each half, with ten (10) minutes rest. 2002 Category: twenty five (25) minutes per each

half, with ten (10) minutes rest. 2000 and 1998 Categories: thirty (30) minutes each way, with five (10) minutes rest.

8. In Categories 2004 and 2002, the OFFSIDE and BACKPASS rule will not be observed, while in Category 2006 KICK-IN will be

applied instead of throw-in. In categories 2004 and 2002, the normal GOAL KICK will be applied from the imaginary line with

the opponent 5 meters from ball. In category 2000 and 1998 the normal rules and regulations of the game will be applied. In

Category 2006 play will be in the form of Fun Games without goalkeeper and with smaller goal posts.

9. In the 1998 Category, if a player is shown two yellow cards throughout the tournament or shown a red card in a match, he

will be automatically suspended in the following game. Other actions may be taken by the Disciplinary Board.

10. Each team participating in Category 2006 should present a ball size three (3), while teams in the 2002, 2000 and 1998

Categories, should present a ball size four (4) for their games.

11. Only registered players, coaches and two officials are eligible to enter the pitch during the games with their respective

teams. Coaches and officials should stay in the area allocated to their team.

12. Football shoes with metal studs are not allowed. The use of shin guards is mandatory - they will be inspected by the match

officials.

13. Categories 2006, 2002 and 2000 play in a round robin league format. In these categories, no winners will be declared.

14. In the 1998 Category, the teams will be divided into two groups and will play in a league format of one round. The team

classified first in Group A will play against the team classified second in Group Band the team classified first in Group B will play

with the team classified second in Group A. The winners of the Semi-Finals will contest the Final. The losing teams of the semi-

finals will play for third and fourth place. Teams classified third, fourth and fifth in Group A play against the teams classified

third, fourth and fifth in Group B respectively.

15. In the event of teams ending up with the same number of points in the group stage of the 1998 category, first the direct

encounter will be considered, then overall goal difference and then the overall number of goals scored. In the event of

remaining the same, five (5) penalties will be given between the two teams.

16. If a Nursery or team fails to honour a fixture, this will be reported to The Youth FA.

17. In case any argument that may arise is not covered by these rules and regulations, the rules and regulations of The Youth

FA will be applied.

18. The Organising Committee's decisions are final and cannot be appealed.