Last week the Malta Sports Journalists Association participated in the 87th AIPS (International Sports Journalists Association) Congress held in Rabat, Morocco. The delegation included the General Secretary Lorraine Cunningham and the Honorary President and member of the Executive committee Sandro Micallef.

With an attendance of nearly 90 countries across four continents, this congress focused on various themes and upcoming sports events including the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, the Youth Olympics in Dakar and the FISU games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany.

Throughout the three-day event, numerous forums and discussions took place, with the Executive Secretary Lorraine Cunningham contributing to a panel addressing the challenges faced by women in sports journalism. Other topics included the Saint Denis convention, investigative journalism, artificial intelligence, illegal games in sports and the role of content creators. Presentations were also done by FIFA, UEFA, IOC, Special Olympics, IJF, the Caribbean Centre of Sport and the Morocco’s Sport Federation.

The Malta Sports Journalists Association participated in the European Continental section, led by Charles Camenzuli where the statute was presented for the approval of delegates and Lorraine and Sandro’s contribution was crucial in the finalisation and approval process.

On the final day,  delegates decided on the location for the next congress, with the Maltese representatives playing a key role in the discussions.

Similar to the previous editions, this congress commenced with the annual AIPS Sports Media Awards and concluded with a visit to the new facility of Morocco’s Football Federation, which provides training for the national football and futsal teams.