Sandro Micallef has stepped down as President of the Malta Sports Journalists Association (MSJA) citing personal and professional reasons. The announcement was made during the 2024 Annual General meeting which was held on Thursday.

Micallef had been serving in the role of President of the MSJA for the past 7 seven years and his second term was due to come to an end in August 2025, however in the interest of the Association he decided to resign with immediate effect. He had been elected in the role of President on 10th July, 2017 and had been confirmed in the role 4 years later in the Association's AGM on 6th October, 2021.

Previously he had also occupied the role of General Secretary of the Association and also served as an exco member in his early years in sports journalism. Mr. Micallef has also recently resigned from PBS where he worked as a sports journalist for TVMsport.

In the meantime during the 2024 AGM, the members of the Malta Sports Journalists Association (MSJA) approved the appointment of Clinton Buhagiar in the role of interim President till the Annual Elective General meeting of the Association scheduled for the third quarter of 2025.

Buhagiar, a long-serving and respected member of the association, has been serving on the exco board in the role of Vice President working shoulder to shoulder with outgoing President Micallef for the past two terms.

During the AGM, Mr. Buhagiar expressed his commitment to continuing the association's work in promoting sports journalism across Malta. He also said that he will continue on the steps of his predecessor and the exco's vision in enhancing collaboration among members, driving forward new initiatives to support the sports media landscape and to help local sports Associations to have a guaranteed media visibility irrespective of the popularity of their sport.

"I am honoured to have been entrusted with this role at such an important time for our association," said Mr. Buhagiar. "I look forward to working closely with our members and partners to further strengthen the voice of sports journalism in Malta."

In his closing address at today's AGM, Sandro Micallef said that he is confident that Mr. Buhagiar will lead the Association to a smooth transition until a permanent successor is elected during next year's elective AGM. "Clinton brings with him a wealth of experience and passion to our beloved Association and I'm sure he will serve the role of interim President with great honour and responsibility" added Micallef.

"I am convinced that with Mr. Buhagiar at the helm of MSJA, Lorraine Cunningham as General Secretary and Stephen Azzopardi in the role of Administrator amongst others, the association will enter a new chapter of growth and continued success" he concluded.

The MSJA remains dedicated to advocating for the professional interests of its members and enhancing the quality of sports coverage nationwide. 

Sandro Micallef irriżenja mill-kariga ta' President tal-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport (GħĠS) għal raġunijiet personali u professjonali. Dan tħabbar waqt il-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali 2024 li saret il-Ħamis filgħaxija.

Micallef kien ilu jokkupa l-kariga ta' President tal-GħĠS għal dawn l-aħħar 7 snin u t-tieni terminu tiegħu kien se jiġi fi tmiemu f'Awwissu tal-2025. Għaldaqstant, fl-aħjar interess tal-GħĠS hu ddeċieda li r-riżenja tiegħu tkun waħda immedjata. Huwa kien ġie elett bħala President waqt il-Laqgħa Ġenerali li kienet saret fl-10 ta' Lulju 2017 u kien ġie kkonfermat fil-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali li kienet saret fis-6 ta' Ottubru 2021.

Il-kariga ta' Micallef bħala President waslet wara li kien jokkupa l-kariga ta' Segretarju Ġenerali u membru fl-Eżekuttiv fil-bidu tal-karriera tiegħu fil-ġurnaliżmu sportiv. Sandro Micallef dan l-aħħar ukoll temm l-impjieg li kellu mal-PBS bħala ġurnalist sportiv ma' TVMsport.

Intant waqt il-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali 2024, il-membri tal-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport approvaw il-ħatra ta' Clinton Buhagiar bħala President ad interim sal-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali tal-2025 li se tkun waħda elettiva għall-Kumitat Eżekuttiv ġdid.

Buhagiar, ilu għal żmien twil membru tal-Assoċjazzjoni u jgawdi r-rispett tal-bqija tal-membri kollha, fejn ilu għal bosta snin fil-Kumitat Eżekuttiv u fil-kariga ta' Viċi President, spalla ma' spalla mal-President uxxenti Sandro Micallef, matul dawn l-aħħar 7 snin.

Waqt il-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali Buhagiar stqarr li se jkompli bl-impenn tiegħu lejn l-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport fil-ħidma tagħha biex tippromwovi l-ġurnaliżmu sportiv f'Malta. Huwa qal ukoll li se jkompli fuq il-passi tal-predeċessuri tiegħu u se jaħdem flimkien mal-Kumitat Eżekuttiv u l-membri tal-GħĠS sabiex imexxi 'l quddiem inizzjattivi ġodda u jagħti s-sapport meħtieġ lil dawk li jaħdmu fil-qasam tal-media sportiva u li jgħin lill-Assoċjazzjonijiet Sportivi sabiex ikollhom garanzija ta' viżibilità fuq il-mezzi tax-xandir, irrispettivament mill-popolarità tal-isport.

Clinton Buhagiar qal, "Jiena ninsab onorat li ġejt fdat b'dan l-irwol fi żmien tant importanti għall-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport. Se nkun qed inħares 'il quddiem sabiex naħdem mill-qrib mal-membri u nsaħħaħ il-leħen tal-ġurnaliżmu sportiv f'Malta."

Fl-indirizz tiegħu fl-għeluq tal-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali tal-lum, Sandro Micallef qal li jinsab ferm kunfidenti li Clinton Buhagiar se jmexxi tajjeb lill-Assoċjazzjoni sakemm jinħatar suċċessur permanenti fil-Laqgħa Annwali Ġenerali tas-sena d-dieħla u l-elezzjoni li ġġib magħha. "Clinton iġorr snin twal ta' esperjenza u passjoni lejn l-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport li hi tant għal qalbna u ninsab ċert li se jservi l-kariga ta' President ad interim b'unur kbir u responsabbiltà," żied jgħid Sandro Micallef.

Ikkonkluda billi qal, "Jiena ninsab konvint li bit-tmexxija ta' Clinton Buhagiar flimkien mas-Segretarju Ġenerali Lorraine Cunningham u Stephen Azzopardi bħala Amministratur fost l-oħrajn, l-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport se tibda kapitlu ġdid sabiex tkompli tikber u tirnexxi."

L-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport se tibqa' obbligata li tħares l-interessi professjonali tal-membri tagħħa u tgħin sabiex itejjeb il-kwalità tar-rappurtaġġ sportiv f'pajjiżna.