The popular game of Bocci is played all over the Maltese islands, and the pastime is closely related to the French game of Petanque, English Bowls and the Italian Bocce. Variations of Bocci are played all over Europe and it’s believed that the sport has its origins in the Roman period. Migrants from southern Europe who settled in Canada, Australia and The United States took the game with them and it formed an important part of their social scene. Maltese emigrants to Toronto and Melbourne set up Bocci clubs and these formed the hub of the Maltese communities there, together with band clubs and the Church.

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Football is one of Malta’s most popular sports, both for spectators and players. The sport has a national governing body, The Malta Football Association (MFA) – founded in 1900, which organises the Maltese national teams (men’s and women’s), the Maltese Football League (men’s and women’s) and the Youth teams and leagues.

Based right in the middle of Malta, at Ta’ Qali, the MFA looks after the National Stadium, the Centenary Stadium and the centre’s swimming pool, gym, training and physiotherapy facilities.

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The game of il-Passju was popular in bygone times here in Malta, along with other games such as ballun stop and bocci.

In the past, village roads were mainly traffic free and children used to play games outside instead of playing indoors on Wii and Playstation.

Like elsewhere in the world, children devised a number of games to play, and in less prosperous times, materials such as stones, balls and pebbles were put to good use.

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