Two sports organisations being scrutinised by authorities

Two local sports organisations, the Malta Modern Pentathlon Association (MMPA) and Malta Sports For All (MSFA), are currently being probed by local authorities, with an Italian sports consultant, Marco Tomasini, as the key link between the two organisations.

Tomasini claims to concurrently hold 18 positions across various sports governing bodies across Europe, and is a self-employed consultant who specialises in promoting the national recognition of emerging sports.

Tomasini is linked to the two organisations under investigation confirmed by both the Authority for Integrity of Maltese Sports (AIMS) and the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations (OCVO).

The two organisations are MSFA, which groups around 10-15 niche sports under one umbrella, and the MMPA (pentathlon).

While the MSFA was largely Tomasini’s brainchild, the MMPA is an active organisation that also features local partners: the president is Labour Party organising secretary William Lewis, and the vice-presidents are obstacle course academy owners and fitness specialists Ivan Gauci and Julian Briffa.

While Lewis wears many hats within the government as an architect, the owner of an environmental consulting firm, and as the organising secretary of the governing party, Gauci and Briffa are influential names in the world of organised sports.

Earlier this month, The Shift published a story that revealed Gauci’s obstacle course academy in Qormi was illegally developed. Similarly, The Shift had previously exposed that a sports facility that was built in collaboration with Briffa’s club was operating without planning permits before it was eventually sanctioned by the Planning Authority.

AIMS’ CEO, Kevin Azzopardi, who is also an outgoing member of the Malta Olympic Committee (MOC), confirmed that neither the MSFA nor the MMPA was a registered organisation.

When contacted for comment, AIMS said Tomasini had not registered the MSFA with the integrity regulator, and that the MOC could never consider the MSFA’s application seriously, since national recognition can only be bestowed on sporting federations that focus on a single discipline.

As for the MMPA, Azzopardi confirmed that, while its application to be formally recognised as the local point of reference for pentathlon athletes aspiring to compete in the Olympics was officially filed, it was never registered with the integrity regulator, AIMS.

“However, the MMPA’s ongoing affiliation process with the MOC has been brought to a halt due to the illegalities present on the Obstacle Course Academy’s site, as highlighted by your story – among other issues under review,” Azzopardi added.

In the meantime, Tomasini also attempted to register a total of around a dozen voluntary organisations in Malta. All applications filed by Tomasini were rejected, with the office formally confirming that MSFA is “under review.”

The OCVO and AIMS are sharing intelligence about the group’s activities.

The two organisations under investigation, despite not meeting registration criteria, have established control over increasingly popular niche sports.

In fact, though the MMPA is not a registered entity with either AIMS or the OCVO, its vice-presidents have established an effective monopoly over national representation for obstacle course racing competitions, with all young and adult athletes needing to register through Gauci and Briffa’s schools.

The group’s claim of legitimacy is bolstered due to Tomasini’s ties with the Union Internationale de Penthatlone Moderne.

During Tomasini’s tenure as provincial committee president for an Italian sports promotion body named Attività Sportive Confederate (ASC), the body’s leadership accused Tomasini of repeatedly failing to respond to requests for explanations and documentation relating to the committee’s management, leading to a four-year suspension.

After trying and failing to challenge the ruling within the ASC, Tomasini then went to the Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (CONI)’s highest internal court, disputing the allegations and attacking the legitimacy of the entire disciplinary process.

After examining the file, CONI’s internal court sided with Tomasini, annulling the disciplinary measures and overturning the sanctions against him.

Three years ago, Tomasini was also suspended from his role as vice-president with the European Cheerleading Association.

‘Full of lack’

In his responses to The Shift’s questions, Tomasini defended his track record, noting that his appeal against the ASC was overturned by CONI’s court.

As for his suspension from the ECA, Tomasini claimed that issues within the entity arose because the head of the ECA was a Russian national and Russian athletes were participating in competitions.

“At the same time, the International Olympic Committee recognised the International Cheer Union and the ECA, after what they did, European DanceSPort Federation expelled them and they are not part of the Sport system (sic),” Tomasini added.

“By the way, just to confirm all of these, if I had any legal problem or suspension I was not able to have the status of CIPC Individual Member nor the Honorary Star of the National Olympic Committee of Italy, confirmed after this suspension (sic),” he added, referring to honours bestowed upon him by two sporting federations.

Tomasini further maintained that “it is impossible” to not have encountered any problems in a 20-year career, adding that “the main point is to show that you have done anything wrong and you have not been found guilty, even having damage for the fake statement (sic)”.

When asked to confirm that both MSFA and the MMPA are being scrutinised by AIMS and the OCVO, Tomasini asked The Shift “to prove all your statement or I must start a legal procedure to defend my image and the federation image”, adding that he was not aware of any ongoing investigations by the regulators.

Tomasini also defended his colleagues, Briffa and Gauci, claiming that any statement made against them and their sporting communities “is just a way to create scandals and will end with a formal apology to them and to their perfect integrity.”

Tomasini claimed “all the statements are incorrect and the fact check has been full of lack (sic).”

In a separate response, Briffa claimed that his fitness centre is “a fully licensed and insured sports club operating in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”

His claim counters Ivan Gauci’s prior statement that there were no insured facilities in Malta, as previously reported in our article about planning illegalities in his academy.

Out of the three MMPA members questioned for this article, Gauci was the only one who did not issue an individual response.