“Two weights, two measures.” With those five words, seasoned journalist Antvin Monseigneur sparked a wave of outrage across the Maltese football media landscape. His explosive post came in response to the Malta Football Association’s recent call for volunteer photographers ahead of the 2025/26 season, a move many are calling hypocritical and disrespectful.
Monseigneur, who has covered and promoted Maltese football for years, did not hold back. After years of asking photographers, the very people who bring the game to life through visuals, to pay €200 a year just for the privilege of shooting Premier League matches, they now dare to expect photographers to work for free. That is not just unfair. It is insulting.
The MFA’s call, shared through official channels, invites aspiring photographers to gain pitch-side access, official accreditation, and experience covering local and international football without any form of compensation. Applicants are expected to own their professional equipment and provide their transport. While positioned as a gateway for young creatives, the move has been widely condemned by professionals who see it as a continued exploitation of skilled labour.
Monseigneur’s post cut through the MFA’s glossy financial narrative with precision. This call comes in the same year that the MFA proudly announced €11.7 million in wages paid in 2024. Let that sink in. That’s nearly €1 million every month, including the full salary structure and bonuses, yet they won’t budget a cent to pay photographers who work week in, week out, in the sun, in the rain, and in empty stadia just to support the local game.
He went further, accusing the MFA of funding excess at the top while neglecting those at the grassroots. There is money to charter flights. There is money to host lavish hospitality lunches and dinners. There is money for the MFA president and his General Secretary to fly to Miami, follow the FIFA Club World Cup, and take selfies with celebrities. Yet no money to pay photographers for their work.
For Monseigneur, this is about more than budgets or optics. It is about basic respect. With all this talk of positive financial results and investment in governance, the MFA still won’t find a few thousand euros in its multi-million euro budget to fairly compensate its own creatives. You invest in admin, committees, Instat, conferences, and cocktails, but ignore and exploit the people who help promote the sport visually to fans and media.
The sentiment has resonated with many across the football and media landscape. For years, local photographers have gone underpaid or not paid at all despite providing essential coverage that fuels club media, match promotion, and fan engagement. Now, with this new call, even the entry point into football photography is being set at zero compensation.
To every football photographer in Malta, Monseigneur concluded, you deserve better. You deserve respect. You deserve to be paid. And to the MFA, shame on you.
As the 2025/26 season approaches, the MFA faces growing scrutiny not just over its finances but over its values. The question many are now asking is how long can the association afford to celebrate professionalism on the pitch while relying on unpaid passion off it.
