Visit Malta has signed a four-year strategic marketing agreement with Melbourne-based Caroline Springs George Cross Football Club, with the collaboration targeting Australia, a priority long-haul source market for Malta, and leveraging football as a high-visibility platform to promote the country as a high-quality, year-round tourism destination.

Founded in 1947 by Maltese migrants, Caroline Springs George Cross FC was recently promoted to Victoria’s National Premier League, significantly expanding its exposure across the Australian football landscape.

Under the agreement, Visit Malta will become the club’s principal jersey partner, with its branding displayed on home and away kits across all 33 George Cross FC squads, including the senior men’s team competing at NPL level.

Additional visibility will be secured through the club’s digital channels, official match livestreams, and physical branding at stadium and training facilities.

The partnership forms part of Visit Malta’s broader repositioning towards higher-yield tourism from long-haul markets, with sports tourism identified as a targeted niche capable of delivering sustained brand engagement and stronger return on investment.

Malta Tourism Authority CEO Carlo Micallef described Australia as a market with significant untapped potential, particularly among both the Maltese diaspora and the wider travel audience. He noted that partnerships of this nature support Malta’s long-term objective of strengthening its global positioning as a premium destination, while driving interest from travellers with higher spending power.

Beyond destination marketing, the agreement provides Caroline Springs George Cross FC with long-term commercial backing, supporting its professionalisation and competitiveness following its promotion to the National Premier League. The partnership will also facilitate further investment in football development, infrastructure, and community programmes, reinforcing the club’s strong Maltese heritage.

George Cross FC President Mark Sultana said the collaboration aligns naturally with the club’s identity, noting that more than half of its junior players come from Maltese families and that the club maintains strong engagement with the Maltese-Australian community. He added that the partnership allows the club to promote Maltese culture while expanding its reach within Australia’s football ecosystem.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Ian Borg described the agreement as an example of Malta’s increasingly targeted approach to tourism promotion in key long-haul markets. He said the initiative strengthens Malta’s visibility abroad while reinforcing cultural and economic ties with the Maltese diaspora, ultimately contributing to sustainable, higher-value tourism flows.

With over 200,000 Australians of Maltese heritage and growing interest in experiential and cultural travel, the partnership underscores Malta’s efforts to align tourism promotion with broader economic, branding, and international outreach objectives.