The Maltese volleyball community is mourning the passing of former Malta international player Jonathan Chetcuti at the age of 41 due to illness.
Jonathan Chetcuti started his volleyball career at a young age with Aloyisians Volleyball Club. Together with his teammates, they battled for the championship against the clubs of Pembroke, Kerygma and Fleur de Lys. He was a competitive player and refused to lose but always showed respect. After several seasons with Aloysians, he moved to play with Pembroke and later with Fleur De Lys with whom he won championships there. He was part of the National Team for many years.
Way back in 2005 he founded Valletta Volleyball Club. Although he was still playing, he put himself in the administrative side too to help the growth of the game. Together with his teammates at Valletta Volleyball Club, he won numerous championships one after each other. With Valletta Volleyball Club, he also organized beach volleyball tournaments including the one held in Valletta during 2018.
Jonathan was a bubbly person and had a contagious smile, he was a fighter on the court but always treated everyone with respect. Jonathan, apart from playing and his administrative role, he forwarded constructive criticism for the love of the game. His passion for the game was known to everyone even abroad as he made friends with several international players.
Apart from the love for volleyball, the desire for photography grew within him and also made explore other sports within the local community. He participated once as a player in the Volleyball Marathon organized by Kerygma in 1995 in aid of Dar tal-Providenza. He continued to support the event as much as he could including donating volleyballs to the Volleyball Marathon held by Dar tal-Providenza through his contact with Fipav.
Professionally, Jonathan spearheaded GO’s online presence for 8 years, including pivotal milestones such as the launch of mobile services and the rebranding of the GO group. He then moved to Melita as the product manager for e-marketing, responsible for day-to-day operations, together with the online launch of mobile services and online rebranding amongst others. He co-founded the Concept Stadium in 2010, together with Johnathan Dalli.
Jonathan was also a wonderful husband to Elaine and an exemplary father to his son Gigi.
His death has led to a number of tributes from various personalities and friends who world close to him.
