08/09/2026
The Maltese Table Football team delivered strong performances at the World Cup held in Paris, France. Competing against 28 countries, the Maltese players secured one silver and three bronze medals.
Mark Gauci reached the Open Category final, where he lost 3–1 to Spain's Carlos Flores. Gauci enjoyed an excellent tournament, defeating Samuel Bartolo 2–0 in the semi-finals, Bartolo’s performance earned him the bronze medal. To reach this stage, Gauci had beaten the 2024 world champion Dimitri Dimopoulos 2–1 in the quarter-finals, while Bartolo defeated Italy's Mato Ciccarelli 3–2 in extra time. Jurgen Balzan qualified from his group and reached the Round of 16 but was eliminated by the Greek player Dimopoulos. George Ebejer also qualified from his group but was eliminated in the Round of 32 by England's Kaspar Bennett.
In the Veterans Category, Charles Aquilina reached the quarter-finals, losing 1–0 to Greece's Yannis Salamouris. In the Round of 16, Aquilina had defeated Germany's Frank Stiller 4–1. John Zammit and Jason Pisani both reached the Round of 16, where they were defeated by Manuel Santos (Portugal) and Alberto Di Maggio (Greece), respectively. Patrick Pace reached the group stage.
In the Under-20 Category, Robert Farrugia Randon advanced from his group and reached the Round of 16, where he lost 6–3 to Giorgos Vlassopoulos.
In the Team Category, two bronze medals were won. Both the Open and Veteran teams reached the semi-finals. The Malta Open team defeated Scotland, Ireland, and Australia, all with a score of 4–0. In the quarter-finals, they beat Greece by a one-goal margin after the match ended 2–2, while in the semi-finals, they were defeated 4–0 by Italy. In the Veteran Category, Malta won its group with victories over Japan (4–0) and Spain (2–1). In the quarter-finals, Malta defeated England 2–1, but in the semi-finals, they were beaten by Greece by a one-goal margin following a 1–1 draw.
The Open Team consisted of Samuel Bartolo, Mark Gauci, Jamie Bonnici, George Ebejer, and Jurgen Balzan. The Veteran Team comprised Charles Aquilina, Jason Pisani, John Zammit, Massimo Cremona, Patrick Pace, and Mario Camilleri.
The Maltese contingent was led by Emanuel Camilleri and Josef Camilleri.
This World Cup was made possible with the support of the Maltese Olympic Committee and VisitMalta.
Maltese Olympic Committee
Visit Malta
