Parliamentary Secretary Clyde Puli today met with shooter William Chetcuti, who will be representing Malta in the London 2012 Olympics.

Apart from Mr Chetcuti, Mr Puli has also met with the other four Maltese athletes – Rachid Chouhal, Diane Borg, Nikki Muscat and Andrew Chetcuti - in previous weeks.

Mr Puli congratulated Mr Chetcuti and pledged that the government would continue working to promote sports in Malta, as it had been doing throughout its legislature, including the Youth Development Scheme, Sports Competition Leave for professional athletes, and the 20/20 Sports Training Schemes for workers in both the private and the public sector.

Last year, the government also established a Sports Unit within the Armed Forces of Malta, where athletes are recruited into the army and train for up to 40 hours a week in their preferred discipline. William Chetcuti, coincidentally, was one of the first athletes to be employed within this unit.

Later this year, the first National School of Sports will be opened, and scholarships will be granted for whoever wishes to continue specialising in sports.

“All this shows that the government is working hand in hand with athletes from the first stages of identification to their development, to the point when they start competing at an international level and making us proud,” Mr Puli said.