Former Malta coach Ray ‘Zazu’ Farrugia has expressed his concern about the current situation in the Middle East and is hopeful that he and his fellow Maltese colleagues Brian Bartolo and Ryan Spencer will be able to return to Malta when his contract as head coach of Saudi Arabian women’s team Al Ula comes to an end in April.
Farrugia has been working in Saudi Arabia for the past two years after he was named as head coach of the women’s team of Al Ula.
The experienced coach is supported by Bartolo as assistant coach, while Spencer is filling the role of match analyst.
Tensions have been high in the Middle East following the United States decision to attack Iran, sparking a major conflict in the region with Israel, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, among the countries that were hit by retaliatory strikes.
Farrugia and his fellow Maltese colleagues are based in the religious city of Medina, which is situated far away from the conflict, but they are still worried that an escalation of the conflict might jeopardise their chances of returning home at the end of April.
“Naturally, we are worried of the current situation in Saudi Arabia, given how the conflict is developing around us,” Farrugia told the Times of Malta.
“In the past weeks, the cities of Riyadh and Amman were bombarded because of the oil they have. We are situated in Medina, which is the most religious city in Saudi Arabia, and everyone told us that we are fairly safe.
“However, our main concern is that if the situation worsens and the conflict escalates in the next few weeks, we fear that the airspace will be closed and we will not be able to come back to Malta.
“To be able to leave Saudi Arabia, we need the club to provide us with the exit visa, and without it, we will not be able to leave the country.”
Farrugia said he is grateful by all the support he received from politicians in Malta from both parties.
“I was pleased to be contacted by members of parliament from both parties who took an interest in our situation and promised that they would try to help us. Jonathan Attard, Clayton Bartolo, and Ivan Castillo spoke to us and offered their support,” Farrugia said.
“The Maltese ambassador for Saudi Arabia, Roberto Pace, also contacted us, and he assured us that if things get worse, he will help us to move out of the country, while Jesmond Zammit, who works in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, is helping us also in this situation.”
Successful season
Farrugia said that it has been another successful season for his team in the Saudi Arabian league as they are already assured of retaining their top-flight status with three matches to spare.
“Our goal this season was to retain our top-flight status and I’m pleased to say that we fulfilled that objective with three matches to spare,” Farrugia said.
“We have also reached the semi-finals of the Cup where we will face Al-Nassr who are the champions for the past three seasons, so we know that it’s going to be difficult. But we have no pressure as it has been another successful season given the squad we had.
“I am grateful to our chairman Mr Waleed for everything he has done with us as it has been a great experience here. We have already informed the club of our decision not to accept a new one-year contract offer.
“It has been a huge learning experience here but I feel that after two years away from our family it’s time for us to return home but the memories and experiences we had here will remain forever.”
On his part, Bartolo admitted that the current situation in the Middle East inevitably is a cause of concern.
“When we accepted Al Ula’s offer we took the decision to leave our families and work in a foreign country,” Bartolo said.
“Away from the football world, the Middle East conflict that is continuously evolving has inevitably left us worried.
“We try to contact our families twice a day to give them the peace of mind that we are fine, but it’s natural to be anxious on the situation.
“Personally, this has been my first experience in women’s football. We headed into the unknown but playing in a professional environment has been a life-changing experience and something I always dreamed of.
“Here, we are continuously thinking about football and we are working with some top-quality players who played in top teams in Europe like Olympique Lyon and Barcelona, and the level of football is very good.”
Ryan Spencer shared Bartolo’s thoughts on the impact of this experience had on his career.
“To work with a professional team in Saudi Arabia has ben a dream come true for me,” Spencer said.
“I am really grateful to be given such an opportunity and will cherish it for the rest of my life as I learnt a lot during my stay here and made me a better person.
“The fact that in such a difficult situation I am with two other Maltese colleagues is very reassuring as we are continuously supporting each other.
“It has been an honour working with them.”