Editing Malta National paintball team (section)

== History ==

=== Development of the national programme ===

The national team programme developed through the activities of [[Malta Paintball]], a registered Maltese voluntary organisation dedicated to competitive paintball.

Malta Paintball became a member of the [[European Paintball Federation]] in 2025 and began preparing players for international competition through participation in the [[Central Premier Paintball Series]] (CPPS) in the United Kingdom.

The organisation competed in CPPS Division 4 during 2025 and Division 5 in 2026. These club competitions provided tournament experience ahead of Malta's first national team appearance.[2][4]

Players based in Malta and Gozo also travelled to Sicily for speedball training, reflecting the absence of a permanent competitive speedball training facility in Malta.[4]

=== Formation of the 2026 national squad ===

In August 2026, Malta confirmed that it would enter the UPBF World Championship for the first time.

The country was one of four nations making their World Championship debut that year, alongside Colombia, Denmark and Kuwait.[1]

The national squad combined players based in Malta and Gozo with members of the Maltese diaspora living overseas.

Under UPBF eligibility requirements, players representing Malta were required to hold Maltese citizenship or residency.[2]

In August 2026, Malta Paintball confirmed that '''Jay Guarino''', captain of British tournament team [[Manchester Rush]], would join the national squad. Guarino qualified through his Maltese family background.[5]

=== 2026 UPBF World Championship ===

Malta made its debut at the [[2026 UPBF World Championship]], held at Ace Paintball in Dreux, France, on 2–3 September.

The men's competition featured 20 national teams, divided into four preliminary groups.

Malta was placed in Group D alongside Great Britain, Belgium, South Africa and Switzerland.

The team lost all four preliminary matches but scored points against Switzerland and South Africa.

Malta scored the opening point against Switzerland before eventually losing the match 4–1.[3][6]

The team's recorded results were:

{| class="wikitable"
! Opponent
! Score
! Result
|-
| Switzerland
| 1–4
| Loss
|-
| Great Britain
| 0–4
| Loss
|-
| Belgium
| 0–4
| Loss
|-
| South Africa
| 1–4
| Loss
|}

Malta finished fifth in its preliminary group and 20th overall in the men's championship, with four losses and a points differential of −14.[3]