What if the sea itself could become part of a city's sports infrastructure? Along the Mediterranean coastline of Sliema, Malta, an extraordinary aquatic facility offers an inspiring answer. Here, beneath the historic Fortizza and just metres from the open sea, a 33-by-25-metre saltwater swimming pool forms the centre of something much bigger than a sports club. Water polo, competitive swimming, family recreation, diving and hospitality come together in one remarkable location. For the European Sports and Wellbeing Alliance for Municipalities (ESWAM), which visited Sliema in October 2026, this is precisely the kind of place that challenges conventional thinking about how cities develop, finance and operate sports facilities.
The story began long before anyone imagined building a swimming pool here. In the early twentieth century, young people gathered along the rocky shoreline of Għar id-Dud, improvising water polo goals and playing in the Mediterranean. Matches against British naval and military teams became part of the local sporting culture. In 1912, Sliema Aquatic Sports Club was officially founded, although the club's roots stretch further back. Its first facilities were remarkably simple. Members and local shopkeepers raised money to level the rocks and construct a wooden hut, which was dismantled after every summer and rebuilt the following season. What began as an informal meeting place gradually developed into one of Malta's most successful aquatic sports organisations. The lesson is timeless: major sporting institutions do not always begin with major investments. Sometimes, they begin with people who simply want somewhere to play.
As the club grew, so did its ambitions. In 1949, changing rooms, a bar, meeting facilities and a diving platform were added. By 1961, members had raised sufficient funds to construct permanent concrete premises. Building directly beside the open Mediterranean was considerably more demanding than developing a conventional inland facility, but the club remained committed to its original location. The decisive transformation came in the mid-1990s, when a seawater swimming pool was constructed, followed by a complete reconstruction of the clubhouse and adjoining sun terraces. Named Pixxina Edwin Meli, the pool transformed the exposed coastline into a more sheltered aquatic environment without losing its direct relationship with the sea.
Today, the main pool covers approximately 825 square metres. It provides a defined swimming environment alongside direct access to the Mediterranean, where visitors can also enter the open water using ladders. A separate children's seawater pool adds another dimension. Particularly interesting is the relationship between the pool and the sea. Openings beneath the basin appear to allow seawater exchange through currents and wave movements. The precise technical system, including any supplementary pumping, filtration and water-quality treatment, has not yet been independently established. Nevertheless, the design raises an intriguing question for cities exploring alternative aquatic infrastructure: could a coastal swimming facility make more intelligent use of its natural surroundings while providing the comfort and functionality of a conventional pool?
But the real innovation may lie beyond the water. Sliema ASC has developed an environment where competitive sport and everyday leisure coexist. The club's published membership profile exceeds 2,500 people, while its beach club attracts families, young people and adults seeking recreation beside the sea. The 2026 membership structure includes annual subscriptions of €265 for individual adults and €475 for families with two children. These are not simply entrance fees; they illustrate how a sporting organisation can create a broader recreational offer around its core facilities. Swimming and water polo remain central to the club's identity, but the location also provides a place to relax, meet friends and spend time together.
“The most valuable sports facilities are not necessarily those that serve a single purpose, but those that bring sport, community life and economic activity together.”
Surrounding the pool is another important part of the story. Santé Mediterranean Kitchen offers dining facilities, including a restaurant with more than 200 seats, and welcomes non-members and tourists. Watercolours operates a diving centre and shop, creating opportunities to explore the Mediterranean beyond the swimming pool. Sun terraces, changing facilities and spaces for events complete the setting. Together, these activities create a destination that reaches far beyond organised sport. They also present potential opportunities for generating revenue through hospitality, commercial partnerships, memberships and sponsorship. Whether the restaurant and diving centre contribute through rent, concession fees or revenue-sharing arrangements has not been publicly confirmed. Nor are the club's total operating costs or commercial income available. Yet the principle is highly relevant: rather than treating a sports facility as a single-purpose expense, Sliema demonstrates the possibilities of combining different activities around one location.
This combination also supports a sporting tradition. Sliema ASC has won a record 31 Maltese top-division water polo championships, while its swimming and water polo programmes continue to develop new generations of athletes. The club is not simply preserving an impressive history; it remains an active sporting organisation. Its combination of competition, youth development and recreation offers an important reminder that the value of sports infrastructure should not be measured solely by elite results or visitor numbers, but also by the opportunities it creates for people to participate and belong.
There is, however, another side to building by the sea. In January 2026, Storm Harry caused severe damage to Sliema's coastline, including the aquatic club and the neighbouring diving centre. Damaged structures and equipment were swept into the water, prompting a clean-up involving water polo players, divers and volunteers. The Maltese government subsequently announced financial assistance for affected voluntary organisations, including Sliema ASC. The episode exposed the vulnerability of coastal sports infrastructure and the importance of maintenance, resilience and financial reserves. The sea is both the facility's greatest asset and one of its greatest operational challenges.
For European cities, Sliema offers something more valuable than a blueprint to copy. Its history demonstrates the power of local initiative, its physical design challenges traditional thinking about aquatic facilities, and its mix of sport and commercial activity raises important questions about long-term financial sustainability. Not every city has a Mediterranean coastline. But every city has places, assets and communities whose potential may be underestimated. The challenge is to recognise those opportunities and bring the right people and activities together.
More than a century after local youngsters first improvised water polo goals among the rocks, Sliema ASC remains a place where people come together through water. Its greatest achievement may not be the pool itself, but the way an entire sporting and social environment has grown around it. Perhaps that is the question every city should be asking: are we simply building sports facilities, or are we creating places that people will continue to value for generations?
Marcel de Visser Member of the board ESWAM