Football in Gibraltar

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Football is the most popular sport in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar . The British armed forces introduced football to Gibraltar in the 19th century. In 1895 the Gibraltar Football Association was founded, one of the ten oldest football associations in the world.

history

Winning team of the Merchants Cup 1895

Football was introduced to Gibraltar by members of the United Kingdom's Armed Forces in the late 19th century . It is not known exactly when the first civilian football club was formed, but the earliest records show the existence of Prince of Wales FC in 1892 and the establishment of Gibraltar FC in November 1893.

The Merchants Cup was held between 1895 and 1907 . The competition was funded by the Gibraltar-based merchants. In the first final, Gibraltar FC and Jubilee FC faced each other in front of 1500 spectators.

In 1902 the military handed over the soccer field on the northern front used by the military to the citizens. Before that, there were no civilian football fields, so the Gibraltar Civilian Football Association was forced to host friendly matches against military teams in order to get match practice outside of the Merchants Cup.

Gibraltar Football League

The Gibraltar Football League was founded in October 1907 as the first civil football league in Gibraltar . The military had established leagues and cup competitions before that, but civil clubs were banned from participating. Eight teams took part in the first season, the winner being Prince of Wales FC . The growing success of the league and cup competitions was reflected in the high number of newly formed teams. Eventually a second league had to be founded in 1909, and a year later the association organized separate leagues and cup competitions for senior and junior teams. The constant growth of football in Gibraltar was also reflected in the association's merger with the English Football Association . With the elimination of several reserve teams in the second division, the second and third division were merged for the 2005/06 season.

In the 20th century, the Gibraltar Civilian Football Association changed its name to the Gibraltar Football Association. Today it is the main task of the association to organize leagues and promote sport in Gibraltar.

Golden era

The period between 1949 and 1955 is known as the golden era for football in Gibraltar. During this time the world's best clubs, including Real Madrid , Atlético Madrid , Real Valladolid and Admira Wacker , came to Gibraltar to play against the national team, which performed very well in games against professionals for an amateur team.

League system

level

Division

1

Gibraltar Premier Division
10 clubs
↓ ↑ 1–2 clubs

2

Gibraltar Second Division
8 clubs

National team

The Victoria Stadium is the home of the national team

The Gibraltar national football team has a long history. In the beginning, the national team competed against military teams from Great Britain who were visiting Gibraltar. In 1949 the national team drew against Real Madrid, which is considered a highlight in the association's history. The national team often played games against national teams from non-sovereign areas. For example, the national team emerged victorious from the 2007 Island Games football competition , which was held on the Greek island of Rhodes .

The Gibraltar national team plays its games like most teams in the Victoria Stadium , which has a capacity of 5000 spectators and is licensed by FIFA .

UEFA

On January 8, 1997, the national association applied for FIFA membership and in March 1999 FIFA confirmed that the GFA complied with Article 4.7 of the FIFA Statutes and that it had passed the data on to UEFA .

On April 12, 1999, GFA applied for membership in UEFA. This would mean that the national team can take part in the qualifications for the European football championship and clubs can take part in the European club competitions. But the Spanish Football Association appealed because the Spanish government does not recognize Gibraltar as British territory. Spanish authorities started a campaign against the application because it did not meet the criteria. In 2002, UEFA stipulated that future members must be sovereign nations, which would mean that several member associations could not be admitted.

After a challenge at the International Court of Sport , it was decided in 2006 that UEFA and all members must include the GFA, as the application was submitted before the new rule. In addition, the decision had political overtones that are out of place in sport. UEFA promised Gibraltar, together with Montenegro, membership and pushed the decision on Congress 2007 in German Dusseldorf .

Spanish delegates had been trying for a few months to get supporters to strengthen their position, and they also threatened that Spanish clubs would not take part in European club competitions if Gibraltar was accepted. This tactic was successful with 45 members voting against, three voting in favor and five abstaining. Gibraltar's application was canceled at this point and Montenegro was unanimously granted membership.

On October 3, 2012, UEFA granted Gibraltar a provisional membership and promised a decision on full membership at the next Congress in May 2013 in London . This time the application was accepted. On May 24, 2013 Gibraltar became the 54th member of UEFA and Gibraltar got a place in the Champions League 2014/15 . UEFA also took into account the political dispute with Spain and promised that Gibraltar and Spain would not play against each other in qualifying.

On February 23, 2014, Gibraltar was drawn into a group with Germany , Ireland , Poland , Scotland and Georgia in qualifying for the Euro 2016 . Gibraltar lost all games.

FIFA

On May 13, 2016, Gibraltar became a member of FIFA, so that the national team could participate in the qualification for the 2018 World Cup . They were drawn into a group with Belgium , Greece , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Estonia and Cyprus . Gibraltar lost all games again.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f History of football in Gibraltar. GFA, archived from the original on June 11, 2015 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).
  2. ↑ Gibraltar takes gold in Rhodes. GFA, archived from the original on June 11, 2015 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d Basis for Application. GFA, archived from the original on June 11, 2015 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).
  4. ↑ Gibraltar's UEFA bid worries Spain. GIBnews, October 13, 2000, archived from the original on July 22, 2018 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 .
  5. ↑ BLOW FOR GFA AS UEFA APPROVES NEW STATUTES. Gibraltar Chronicle , October 12, 2001, archived from the original on December 3, 2002 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).
  6. ↑ Spain warns UEFA on Gibraltar issue. BBC , August 24, 2000, archived from the original on July 22, 2018 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).
  7. ↑ a b Gibraltar given full UEFA membership at the London Congress. BBC Sport , May 24, 2013, archived from the original on July 22, 2018 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).
  8. ^ Fifa: Kosovo and Gibraltar become members of the world governing body. BBC Sport , May 13, 2016, archived from the original on July 22, 2018 ; accessed on July 22, 2018 (English).