Malta, October 2026 – The Malta Handball Association (MHA) is pleased to announce four key appointments to its leadership team, as part of the Association’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its organisation, improve governance and build solid foundations for the long-term development of handball in Malta.
New Appointments
Mr Alan Grima – Chief Strategy Officer
Mr Matthew Mamo – Chief Technical Officer
Ms Marylyn Agius – Chief Match Officiating Officer
Dr Maurice Meli – Chief Arbitration Officer
The appointments form part of a wider restructuring of the MHA aimed at establishing clearly defined areas of responsibility and greater ownership across the Association. This approach reflects the MHA’s broader strategic direction of putting the necessary structures in place before seeking to scale its activities – a principle described in the Association’s strategic work as “Structure First, Then Scale.” It places particular emphasis on strengthening governance, technical development, officiating and the systems that underpin Maltese handball.
Profiles
Alan Grima Chief Strategy Officer
Alan Grima was one of the founders of the Malta Handball Association in 1995. Since then he has contributed extensively to Maltese handball at both club and national level, as a player, club coach, national team coach, referee, delegate, technical director and operations director.
Now in his 19th season as an EHF Delegate, his career highlights include the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 and appointments to five European club competition finals and final-four stages over the past five years. He is also a member of the EHF Court of Handball, having been elected for a second term in September 2025.
As Chief Strategy Officer, he will play a central role in helping the MHA translate its longer-term vision into strategic priorities and initiatives, ensuring the Association’s development activities remain aligned with its overall objectives and that progress can be tracked in a structured manner.
Matthew Mamo Chief Technical Officer
Matthew Mamo has been deeply involved in Maltese handball since 2001, first as a player and then as a referee and delegate, before dedicating his career to technical coaching and player development. He has also served as an EHF Delegate in European Championship competition.
His foundational coaching years were spent working across all age groups alongside Milos Stanisavljevic, and many of the athletes developed during that period went on to form the backbone of Malta’s national teams. A proven winner at domestic club level, he has won multiple trophies as a coach and has taken part in European club competitions. At national level, he coached the U21 and senior teams and guided Malta in its inaugural appearance in the EHF EURO 2014 Qualification Phase 1.
Matthew has continued to expand his technical methodology through collaboration with international experts such as Diogo Castro and through international exchanges, including the MHA’s Erasmus project with BM Granollers.
As Chief Technical Officer, he will lead the MHA’s technical direction, with a focus on structuring coach education and building sustainable pathways for the next generation of players. His remit includes the Association’s strategic technical policy, liaison with key technical personnel, implementation of the EHF Master Plan and its associated KPIs, player education and development, and coordination with the Chief Match Officiating Officer on referee education.
Marylyn Agius Chief Match Officiating Officer
Marylyn Agius’s journey in handball began at the age of 12 as a player, and she took up refereeing shortly afterwards. A candidate in the EHF Young Referees Programme, she served as a delegate at the IHF Emerging Nations event in 2017 and completed the EHF Delegates course in Balaton in 2019. She has since been an EHF Delegate, with nominations across European competitions that include a European final, most recently the Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2026 in Belgrade and the upcoming Women’s EHF EURO 2026.
A social worker and psychotherapist by profession, Marylyn is currently pursuing a Master’s in Sports Psychology at Staffordshire University, and strongly believes in the positive impact of sport on physical and mental wellbeing.
As Chief Match Officiating Officer, she will take responsibility for an area fundamental to the quality and development of domestic handball. The appointment reinforces the Association’s intention to give match officiating a clearly identified place within its new organisational structure and to strengthen coordination between the officiating and technical functions.
Maurice Meli Chief Arbitration Officer
Dr Maurice Meli is a practising advocate and Senior Associate at Filletti & Filletti Advocates. Admitted to the Maltese Bar in 2017 following his Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta, he is an active member of the Chamber of Advocates, the Malta IT Law Association and the Union Internationale des Avocats.
Alongside his wider litigation practice, Dr Meli has direct experience handling and litigating contentious sports cases, complemented by a longstanding personal connection to the local game, having played handball in Malta for more than twenty years at both club and national team level.
As Chief Arbitration Officer, he will strengthen the MHA’s governance structure through a clearly identified function dedicated to arbitration matters, forming part of the Association’s wider objective of creating clearer responsibilities within its administration and governance framework.
Building the Foundations for the Future
Commenting on the appointments, MHA President Vladimiro Comodini said:
“These appointments represent another important step in building the organisational foundations that Maltese handball needs in order to develop sustainably. One of the priorities of the new administration has been to establish greater clarity of responsibility and accountability throughout the Association. We want people to know who is responsible for each key area, while ensuring that everyone works together towards a common vision for Maltese handball. We have invested considerable effort in defining these roles and identifying individuals who can contribute to both the immediate work of the Association and our longer-term ambitions for the sport. I am delighted to welcome Alan, Matthew, Marylyn and Maurice to their respective roles. Each brings their own knowledge, experience and perspective, and I look forward to working closely with them as we continue building the structures required to take Maltese handball forward.”
Looking ahead
These appointments form part of the MHA’s broader programme to establish a clearly defined organisational structure, with responsibilities and targets assigned across the Association’s principal functions. This direction has also featured in the MHA’s strategic discussions with the European Handball Federation and its longer-term development planning.
