SportArti is one of Arts Council Malta’s (ACM) tools to sustain and support the cultural and creative ecology through the integration of arts and culture within football nursery environments.
Developed in line with ACM’s collaboration with the Malta Football Association (MFA), the scheme seeks to encourage football nurseries that are members of the Youth Football Association and Gozo Youth Football Association to engage with creative practitioners and explore innovative ways of embedding arts and culture within their programmes. The scheme also reflects Arts Council Malta’s commitment to fostering broader access to creativity and the arts across youth and community settings.
The scheme encourages collaborations between football nurseries and creative practitioners for each project.
The objectives of the scheme are:
• To bring creative practitioners into football nursery environments to work with young athletes, coaches, coordinators and nursery communities in a collaborative and innovative way;
• To support projects that engage with the football nurseries’ local community and the Maltese artistic scene;
• To support projects that integrate arts and culture within football nursery programmes and add value to participants’ development and to the nurseries’ environments;
• To promote existing good practices and encourage new levels of excellence and innovation in the integration of arts and culture within football nurseries;
• To encourage collaboration between football nurseries, the culture and creative industries, and relevant sports stakeholders within the MFA/YFA context.
Requirements in line with Arts Council Malta’s Strategy 2030.
In line with its commitment to supporting the arts through a sustainable and accountable approach to public investment, as well as through development and support, advocacy, research and collaboration, ACM draws applicants’ attention to the following documents in line with ACM’s ongoing Strategy framework, with particular focus on the four strategic areas of fair practices, community and inclusion, well-being and international exchange:
Right to Culture – Resource Pack when developing the proposal in relation to how to engage with communities and the considerations of everyone’s cultural rights in their work. The resource pack is aimed at increasing awareness regarding inclusivity and supporting the implementation of cultural rights in our day-to-day practice.
Charter for the Status of the Artist when proposing operational and programming activities to ensure acceptable and decent working conditions for artists and creative practitioners which embraces artistic freedom, accessibility, formal/informal/non-formal skill recognition, decent socio-economic conditions, non-discrimination and equity, ethical considerations and adherence to intellectual property rights and international labour law. The Charter for the Status of the Artist is meant to provide a dynamic frame of reference for any legislation, policy, or initiative which directly or indirectly impacts artists and cultural and creative sectors, ensuring that any action is aligned with the ultimate long-term vision of elevating the status of artists in Malta in line with their tangible value to society.
Who can apply?
The Grant is open to Voluntary Organisations registered and compliant with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations which also operate as:
• A registered Football Nursery and a member of the Youth Football Association and Gozo Youth Football Association;
• A registered Football Club, and a member of the Malta Football Association (MFA) and who have athletes aged between 5 and 12 years.
The applicant shall assign a representative, staff member or one of the collaborators as project coordinator to act as liaison person with Arts Council Malta and Malta Football Association and be responsible for project implementation. The applicant may also use project funds to engage an external coordinator.
Deadline to apply
28th July 2026 at noon
Guidelines
Click here to download the guidelines.
Apply here.