As of next year, students in Maltese state schools will be able to select Baseball and Softball as a school subject under the Sport Career Development Programme.

The Programme will be offered as one of the two optional subjects which students start in Form 1, along with Art, Music, Home Economics, Design, and Technology. This will mean three additional sports-based lessons every week for those students who choose the Programme. 

On reaching form 3 (year 9), students of the Programme will decide whether to continue with the subject for a further two years as part of their SEC education, in order to receive an MQF level-3 qualification. As well as practical lessons, the SEC course will include modules on sports media and photography, nutrition, first-aid, and anti-doping measures amongst others, providing students with the basis of knowledge necessary to pursue any possible career in the field of sports. 

Other than baseball and softball, disciplines offered under the Programme include athletics, basketball, dance, football, handball and rugby. 

The Programme was announced by Hon Clifton Grima, Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sports and Voluntary Organisations. It was decided upon following a study on the evolution of the National School of Sport (NSS), commissioned by the Ministry for Education.

-Malta Softball Federation-