> Construction tycoon Joseph Portelli has handed in his resignation as president of Ħamrun Spartans football club, with the intention of registering himself as a player with the club’s first team.
> Portelli reportedly intends to kit up for the Premier League club as a player. According to Malta Football Association rules, a club president is precluded from being registered as a player with that same club.
> Ħamrun Spartans CEO Marcel Bonnici confirmed that Portelli had tendered his resignation as president, but refused to provide any details as to why he had done so.
> But a source close to the tycoon told Times of Malta that the move is intended to pave the way for Portelli to play for the club. Portelli has no intention of being a regular player, the source said, but has long harboured the wish of playing some minutes in Malta’s top football league.
> Should his plan succeed, the 42-year-old would be the oldest registered player in Malta’s top division, edging 41-year-old veteran Michael Mifsud.
> Joseph Portelli, Malta and Gozo’s sponsorship king
Portelli has strong ties to the Nadur club, having served as its president before passing on the reins to his son Tristen. He quit that club in 2020 when he chose to focus his efforts on Ħamrun Spartans. He was made Spartans president in 2021.
> Within a year, Ħamrun were crowned champions and followed that up with an impressive run in the Champions League qualification rounds.
> The club is now seeking to redevelop its stadium and incorporate commercial developments into it. Portelli has insisted that he will not profit from that project, saying income will be ploughed back into the club.
According to NET Replay TV:
> With the rules of local football, it is not allowed for Portelli to be registered as a player and be actively involved in the games, if he is holding the position of President of the same club.
> It remains to be seen what decision the Malta Football Association will take in the face of this unique situation, with Replay (Net Television) sources indicating that the Association is not at all comfortable in the face of all this.
The rest of the world reserves the first day of April for such incredulous news.
Being Maltese just hits different.
Wait, so this Construction boss uses his influence in the football club just so he can fulfill some weird boyhood dream of his own to “play for a real football team”???
When you thought Malta couldn’t get more Malta…………
When you take the saying “if you want something done right, do it yourself” literally.
* Prime Minister Joseph Portelli
Just a small typo
Imagine one of the Glaziers, Todd Boehly or Florentino Perez rocking up expecting to get a game.
Joseph, you win Malta’s clown of the year award and it’s still only January.
Lol. What a clown.
Just think, you were born in this age, in this country just to see this headline. Beautiful
He has completed his main storyline and now can focus on sidequests.
Buffu kollu. Tghid ihallas l MFA biex ihalluh jilghab?
Expect a lot of players tripping over their own feet, opposing gouler stepping away to the bathroom during the game and portelli scoring 20 goals each game.
With him and Joseph Muscat now both in sports, the sky is the limit!
This man is a real life shitposter
I had to check I wasn’t reading a Bis-Serjetà article holy shit
Step five from the escobar playbook… Check
Nothing that a sturdy tackle won’t fix
My father said this is like when the dictator of a country is so powerful he enters a sports competition, like Aladeen in Dictator lol
15 comments
> Construction tycoon Joseph Portelli has handed in his resignation as president of Ħamrun Spartans football club, with the intention of registering himself as a player with the club’s first team.
> Portelli reportedly intends to kit up for the Premier League club as a player. According to Malta Football Association rules, a club president is precluded from being registered as a player with that same club.
> Ħamrun Spartans CEO Marcel Bonnici confirmed that Portelli had tendered his resignation as president, but refused to provide any details as to why he had done so.
> But a source close to the tycoon told Times of Malta that the move is intended to pave the way for Portelli to play for the club. Portelli has no intention of being a regular player, the source said, but has long harboured the wish of playing some minutes in Malta’s top football league.
> Should his plan succeed, the 42-year-old would be the oldest registered player in Malta’s top division, edging 41-year-old veteran Michael Mifsud.
> [It is familiar territory for Portelli, who last April registered as a player for Gozitan first division club Nadur Youngsters, scoring a penalty in a 1-1 draw in their final game of the season.](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/ufy4hy/gozitan_champions_nadur_youngsters_in_malta/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
> Joseph Portelli, Malta and Gozo’s sponsorship king
Portelli has strong ties to the Nadur club, having served as its president before passing on the reins to his son Tristen. He quit that club in 2020 when he chose to focus his efforts on Ħamrun Spartans. He was made Spartans president in 2021.
> Within a year, Ħamrun were crowned champions and followed that up with an impressive run in the Champions League qualification rounds.
> The club is now seeking to redevelop its stadium and incorporate commercial developments into it. Portelli has insisted that he will not profit from that project, saying income will be ploughed back into the club.
According to NET Replay TV:
> With the rules of local football, it is not allowed for Portelli to be registered as a player and be actively involved in the games, if he is holding the position of President of the same club.
> It remains to be seen what decision the Malta Football Association will take in the face of this unique situation, with Replay (Net Television) sources indicating that the Association is not at all comfortable in the face of all this.
The rest of the world reserves the first day of April for such incredulous news.
Being Maltese just hits different.
Wait, so this Construction boss uses his influence in the football club just so he can fulfill some weird boyhood dream of his own to “play for a real football team”???
When you thought Malta couldn’t get more Malta…………
When you take the saying “if you want something done right, do it yourself” literally.
* Prime Minister Joseph Portelli
Just a small typo
Imagine one of the Glaziers, Todd Boehly or Florentino Perez rocking up expecting to get a game.
Joseph, you win Malta’s clown of the year award and it’s still only January.
Lol. What a clown.
Just think, you were born in this age, in this country just to see this headline. Beautiful
He has completed his main storyline and now can focus on sidequests.
Buffu kollu. Tghid ihallas l MFA biex ihalluh jilghab?
Expect a lot of players tripping over their own feet, opposing gouler stepping away to the bathroom during the game and portelli scoring 20 goals each game.
With him and Joseph Muscat now both in sports, the sky is the limit!
This man is a real life shitposter
I had to check I wasn’t reading a Bis-Serjetà article holy shit
Step five from the escobar playbook… Check
Nothing that a sturdy tackle won’t fix
My father said this is like when the dictator of a country is so powerful he enters a sports competition, like Aladeen in Dictator lol