Malta’s national Blackball teams are set to begin their campaign in the 2026 Nations Cup, which this year will be held at the Europa Sports Complex in Gibraltar.

The Maltese contingent, consisting of four teams, will depart from Malta this coming Saturday on a long journey involving two flights. The teams competing will be the Men’s A and B sides, the Under-23 team, and the Over-40s team.

The Men’s A team, led by Clevion Micallef, is made up of Clayton Castaldi, Wayne Pace, Johan Attard, Mevrick Zammit, Miguel Amato, Lydan Debono and Gary Carr.

Meanwhile, Glenn Axiaq, Liam Mifsud, Luke Said, Shaun Attard, Gabriel Vella and Philip Gatt will form the Men’s B team.

The Under-23 side includes Nick Muscat, Nordai Desira, Casdy Vella, Steven Muscat, Chaylon Castaldi and Matthias Debono, under the guidance of coach Duncan Edwards.

The Over-40s team, who are also the reigning European champions, is composed of Jeffrey Farrugia, Stephen Mangion, Jesmond Schembri, Antoine Aquilina, Chris Tabone and Joseph Tabone, and is led by Darren Micallef.

The competition will take place between 12 and 19 April and will feature 16 countries. Alongside Malta, participating nations include Australia, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Shetland, Catalonia, Norway, Reunion Island and Spain.

The Malta Blackball Federation is taking part in these championships with the support of SportMalta through the “International Participation Scheme”, which provides financial assistance for international competitions.