Now, before anyone takes this in a xenophobic way, there is nothing wrong with foreigners becoming Maltese citizens after having lived in Malta and gone through the naturalisation process, but directly importing foreigners to Malta to play for international sporting events is bizarre and borders outright fraud and cheating. Yet, this is what the Maltese government seems to have done for the Games of the Small States of Europe. Malta has imported a number of foreign athletes that went on to win medals in Malta’s name. One of the foreign athletes even gave herself away saying that the Maltese team “made her feel at home”.
Importing athletes specifically to win games defeats the purpose of building a local sports industry that can nurture local athletes. In addition, it could also be unfair to other countries because you are supposed to compete with your fellow countrymen instead of importing foreign athletes. One of the points of international sporting events is to prove that your country can build and nurture successful athletes. Importing foreign athletes to play in your country’s name defeats the purpose of the international competition, however, this seems to be the government’s new policy. I could confirm that several foreign athletes who played and won medals for Malta during these games have been previously promised Maltese citizenship.
It is also strange that local athletic clubs seem to be silent on this situation, however, the situation has also been kept under wraps by the government. There was never any indication in government policy that foreigners were to be imported to play under Malta’s flag. Such a policy should at least have been discussed at length, especially with sports industry stakeholders and Maltese athletes themselves.
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