Gżira FC’s President refuses to explain ‘personal’ business interests in his own club’s illegalities

Gżira United FC’s President, Sharlon Pace, whose club is currently in the spotlight due to its decision to develop illegal padel courts in Manoel Island, refused to explain his involvement in IK Padel Ltd, a company which built over 20 padel pitches since 2019.

When reached for comment, Pace confirmed that he is “involved” with IK Padel Ltd but said that he did not wish to comment further on “personal business matters.”

The Shift also asked Pace to confirm whether he has signed an agreement with the football club, which he presides over, stipulating that he will personally provide the funding required for the development of the illegal padel pitches on Manoel Island, with the club repaying the investment over time.

“As the president of Gżira United Football Club, I oversee financial arrangements that are standard within the football industry in Malta. The club is structured to ensure operational expenses, including salaries, are met in a timely manner,” Pace said.

“Any funding provided by the President is intended to support the club’s growth and may potentially be recouped based on the club’s performance and revenue generation throughout the season. The specifics of these arrangements are handled internally and reflect the club’s commitment to financial sustainability,” he added.

Pace’s unspecified involvement with the biggest padel pitch developed on the island, coupled with his role as President of a football club that is illegally developing multiple pitches in an area which is meant to be developed into a national park, has raised further questions about whose interests are being served through the development of these pitches: the club’s, or his own.

In 2022, The Shift had reported extensively on Pace’s ties with disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and businessmen who are known to be close to Muscat, including through multiple companies which benefited directly from highly lucrative public-private partnerships.

The Manoel Island: Post Għalina campaign, which has successfully spearheaded the push to convert Manoel Island into a national park after the site concession awarded to MIDI plc did not result in the development of the site, voiced its concerns about “illegal development on a site recently heralded as a new national park and integrated into Malta Vision 2050.”

While the football club did file a planning application for the “proposed reinstatement of sports ground having variable sport uses with demountable glass structures and part sanctioning of same”, it is not yet available for public viewing since it is currently undergoing screening by the Planning Authority (PA). The site covers 6,700sqm in total.

Given that the application was filed in November of last year and has not yet been given a green light by the PA, all ongoing development on the site in question is illegal. Pace redirected all questions about the site’s illegalities to the statement which the club has already issued on the subject. The statement fails to concretely address why the development is being carried out without a permit.

So far, the Planning Authority did not issue a stop and enforecement order even thoigh the illegalities are happening in broad daylight.

Pace’s involvement with IK Padel Ltd is particularly significant when considering that this is not the first time that Pace’s interest in developing padel pitches has already overlapped with his involvement in local football clubs in at least one other instance.

A MaltaToday report published in February of last year documented a bitter clash between the administration of Pembroke FC and parents of kids attending the club’s nursery after the club decided to turn one of its 5-a-side pitches into a padel court which is managed by IK Padel Ltd.

A look at Malta Business Registry filings for Luxol Sports Club Ltd shows that one-third of the shares in the club are held through a company named SFP Ltd – which is also partially owned by Sharlon Pace. His wife, Francesca, holds the other half of shares in SFP Ltd.

When asked to explain how much of a role he played in the club’s contested decision to build the padel court, Pace maintained that “the decision to build padel pitches was made collectively by the club’s management, reflecting their strategic direction.”

Campaigners who have spent months cultivating discourse about what Manoel Island could potentially look like as a national park noted that the NGOs behind the campaign “fully support Gżira United FC’s long-standing need to have a football pitch on the island, and welcome its efforts to encourage greater community participation in sports.”

However, the campaign further noted that its repeated attempts to engage with the football club remained unsuccessful, despite their efforts to do so over the last 12 months.

“We firmly believe that Gżira United FC’s interests are best served through its full and active participation in the public consultation process currently being undertaken by the government. Such genuine participation would result in outcomes that are beneficial to the club and the community at large,” the campaign’s press release continues.

“Developing a complex of padel courts without a permit, on the other hand, runs counter to the spirit of genuine collaboration that has thus far characterised the national effort to turn Manoel Island into a national park,” they added.

The campaigners noted that the site where the pitches are being developed, which is just behind a restaurant that is also owned by Sharlon Pace, was in fact included as part of the concession awarded to MIDI, with the club retaining possession of the site until an alternative pitch is provided at MIDI’s expense.

“The exact location of this pitch was never set in stone. In fact, MIDI’s masterplan for the island, which involved the construction of hundreds of luxury apartments and commercial establishments, would have seen the football pitch relocated to the north shore of Manoel Island, facing Sliema Ferries,” the press release continues.

Warning that the club’s claim opens the door to a piecemeal approach that is “driven by private interests”, the campaigners maintained that the push to formalise illegal development on the site undermines the thousands of signatories who successfully pushed the government to turn the island into a national park.

The coalition has now filed an official complaint with the PA’s Compliance & Enforcement Directorate, ramping up pressure on the authorities to address blatant illegalities on the site.

Partit Momentum, the fledgling political party chaired by Arnold Cassola, also added its voice to the growing chorus of objections towards this latest twist in the Manoel Island saga.

Besides echoing similar concerns that were raised in the campaign’s statement, Partit Momentum further pointed out that Manoel Island falls within the proposed buffer zone that protects the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Valletta.

“UNESCO has recently warned that development around Valletta is placing pressure on the city’s World Heritage status. The UNESCO buffer zones exist to safeguard the setting of heritage sites, including their skyline, views and wider visual landscape. Protecting Valletta’s heritage status means ensuring that development in surrounding areas is carefully assessed for its visual, environmental and cultural impact,” Momentum Executive Member Matthew Agius said.

“Momentum emphasises that this issue is not about opposing sport or community facilities. Sports infrastructure is important and should be encouraged. However, all development must comply with the law and undergo the necessary planning, environmental, social, and heritage assessments,” the party added.

Questions have also been sent to the Office of the Prime Minister, who is yet to comment on this development and how it factors into the government’s master plan for the site.