After this year inaugurating its new headquarters in Malta, online gambling solutions innovator Gaming Innovation Group (GIG) founder and Chief Executive Officer Robin Reed emphasized that the company would become more involved with the local community. In keeping with that promise, GiG will sponsor the 34th edition of the Malta Marathon.

One of the largest annual sporting events on the island, the event will reportedly be known as the GiG Malta Marathon and will take place on February 24, 2019.

COO and General Manager for GiG, Mikael Angman, said that they are “extremely proud” to have partnered with the Malta Marathon, adding that, “We employ many young people, Maltese and foreign. Lots of us identify with this event and look forward to supporting it, while also embracing the challenge of taking part in whatever way we can. In fact, I am sure that many of our team members will be out there, running and racing, on the day,” according to the company’s recent announcement.

Founded by Joe Micallef, the Malta Marathon began in 1986, when there were 50 Maltese and 59 international participants. That’s a far cry from this year’s numbers, with the February marathon seeing the ninth consecutive record number of participants since 2009. More than 3,000 international and 2,000 participants reportedly took part in the 2018 race sponsored by British multinational telecommunications company, Vodafone.

In a Wednesday statement, Micakkef said that he was delighted to have GiG as the new main sponsor of the Marathon and that it is his belief that the development will promote further growth of the project.

“It is going to be a big challenge for GiG to follow in the footsteps of the other top brands that have supported us in the past, namely Flora, BMW, Land Rover and Vodafone; they have each contributed to the success of the Malta Marathon so far. But we have no doubt that GiG will bring a whole new energy and dynamism to the race. Despite the logistical challenges faced by the fact Malta is such a small country, we believe the 2019 GiG Malta Marathon will be another milestone event for everyone involved. We cannot wait to get our running shoes on,” said Micakkef.

In keeping with that, COO Angman added, “We look forward to crafting fantastic activities and to breaking records when it comes to the ever-growing number of people taking part in this national event. Who knows? We may well get all of Malta running yet!”