With the Naxxar Victorians club heading into its fifth anniversary as an amateur 11-a-side team, preparations are underway for a celebration to commemorate such a milestone. www.naxxarvictorians.com spoke to the club’s president Karl Borg about the season so far…
The Naxxar Victorians have undergone changes from season to season, both on and off the pitch. However, there is one factor that has never changed – Karl Borg at the helm of the club. The 27-year-old president has seen his brainchild reach out to the Naxxar Community with a new source of energy over the past five years and the club has become a known part of the locality.
“I feel proud of myself to have stayed put, never giving up on the club, in order to see it grow along the years,” Borg said.
“Obviously, I can’t take all the credit because I’ve got behind me an entire team of people who work non-stop and on a voluntary basis to take care of all the club’s needs. I’d love to take this opportunity to show appreciation to our players, staff, committee, and our families who have always been so patient with us.”
Borg was one of the club presidents to be in charge during the COVID-19 pandemic. A known optimist, the Victorians supremo has been at the forefront of keeping the club on top in terms of safety.
“As a committee, we stayed in contact throughout and whenever there were changes in the protocol by the health authorities, MFA, and MAFA, we worked together as a team to figure out the best decisions to take,” he explained.
“As the club’s COVID-19 officer, Nathan Farrugia took the role seriously and one can say that his job was done well. Luckily, we encountered no positive cases through transmission across the team and so we were able to continue moving without any major setbacks.”
Season 2021-22
Borg also stepped into the role of the team’s coach for the opening part of the season, taking over from coach Frans Spiteri in the summer, and was in charge until the appointment of current coach Kyle Debono. He said that while there were changes in the squad and staff, these changes helped form the team better.
“This season, we had substantial changes in the players, bringing in players in positions which needed strengthening, we got players who were ideal replacements in place of those who left. We also got new players who add power to the team,” Borg said.
“In terms of the coaching staff, the change was one which had to take place. I want to show thanks to coach Frans (Spiteri) for his work with us. Now we can see this with Kyle (Debono) who is continuing this work after Frans (Spiteri) and who is strengthening the squad to continue improving upon where we left off from past seasons.”