The Matthew Micallef St. John Athletics Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

situated in

Marsa, Malta Marsa ( mt, Il-Marsa) is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 4,401 people as of March 2014. The name Marsa means " the harbour".

. The stadium seats 2,500 people and is the national athletics venue of Malta. It is operated by the

Malta Amateur Athletic Association The Malta Amateur Athletic Association is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Malta. Matthew Micallef St John Athletics Stadium in Marsa is the home of Maltese Athletics. The objectives for which the Association is established are to ...

Background and description

In December 2009, the Government of Malta leased the stadium to the

for a lease period of 49 years. The stadium is a multi-purpose facility, which includes an eight lane running track around the pitch. The facilities also comprise an uncovered stand, which holds up to 2,500 people, and a warm-up track behind the said stand. The warm-up track was inaugurated by the Association on 29 April 2016.

Marsa Sports Complex

The stadium makes part of the Marsa Sports Complex. The Complex hosts a number of sports facilities, including two full size football pitches, a rugby field, an archery range, a baseball/softball pitch, and outdoor basketball and netball courts. The Complex also comprises an 18-hole golf-course, tennis courts and a cricket pitch; these facilities are administered by the Marsa Sports and Country Club.

Notable events

European Team Championships

The stadium hosted the Third League of the European Team Championships twice. Indeed, in 2010 Malta hosted the Third League of the 2010 European Team Championships for the first time whereas the most recent edition played out in Malta was the Third League of the 2017 European Team Championships.

Malta national football team

On 1 February 1983, the stadium, back then was known as the Marsa Stadium, hosted the

Malta national football team The Malta national football team ( mt, Tim nazzjonali tal-futbol ta' Malta) represents Malta in international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta. The first official game playe ...

for the first and only time since then. The match was a friendly against the

Tunisia national football team The Tunisia national football team ( ar, منتخب تونس لكرة القدم; ) represents Tunisia in men's international association football. The team is a member of both FIFA and CAF, the Confederation of African Football. It is governe ...

. Malta broke the deadlock but eventually lost the encounter 2-1.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Matthew Micallef St. John Athletics Stadium
at SportMalta.org.mt
Matthew Micallef St. John Athletics Stadium
at Malta2017.org Sports venues in Malta Athletics (track and field) venues in Malta Marsa, Malta