A second International Handball Federation (IHF) development meeting for the 16 emerging European handball organisations, took place recently in Basel.
Delegates hailed from Andorra, Faroe Islands, Lichtenstein, Malta, Georgia, Latvia, Ireland, Great Britain, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Albania, Kosovo, Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia and Luxemburg.
The Malta Handball Association (MHA) was represented by Clyde Borg Conti (CEO) and Clive Ferrante (media officer).
The agenda at the meeting was the four-year development plan, an IHF project launched in 2012.
The aim is to provide emerging IHF members with a concept to develop handball in their country and at the same time increase the number of players, coaches and referees while strengthening the national league.
In Basel, the IHF reviewed the implementation of the plan in the first year. The Maltese association achieved a very positive result, placing second in the list behind Georgia and ahead of Latvia.
They were awarded with a certificate by IHF president Hassan Moustafa and further assistance was promised.
During the meeting, Moustafa also revealed that in future the IHF will be hosting a tournament in-volving all 16 emerging handball nations.