man ‘s national association football team representing Gibraltar

The Gibraltar national football team represents Gibraltar in international football competitions, and is controlled by the Gibraltar Football Association. Gibraltar applied for fully UEFA membership and was accepted by the UEFA Congress in May 2013. It can therefore compete in the UEFA European Championship starting with the 2016 tournament for which the team competed in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group D. On 13 May 2016 Gibraltar became a member of FIFA at the governing body ‘s 66th Congress which was held in Mexico City. [ 4 ] Gibraltar is the second smallest UEFA member in terms of population ( lone San Marino has a smaller population ) and the smallest in terms of area. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Despite not being an island, Gibraltar set up its first official side for the football competition at the 1993 Island Games [ 7 ] and has been a regular in the tournament, winning the 2007 edition. [ 8 ]

history [edit ]

Gibraltar ‘s first unofficial national match took place against Jersey in the 1993 Island Games in the Isle of Wight, although the team had previously played friendlies versus professional and amateur clubs. The solution was a 2–1 loss for the Gibraltarians. Gibraltar ‘s largest unofficial winnings was 19–0 versus Sark, in St. Martin, Guernsey, whilst their largest unofficial loss was 5–0 versus Greenland – an autonomous area of Denmark – which besides took part on the Isle of Wight, in Freshwater .

foundation garment [edit ]

The history of the Gibraltarian national football side can be traced rear to April 1923, when it travelled to Spain to play club english Sevilla in a friendly ; two games were played and Gibraltar lost both. [ 7 ] The side besides managed a disembowel with very Madrid in 1949. [ 9 ]

Island Games [edit ]

Before joining UEFA, Gibraltar competed in numerous football competitions, most regularly in the Island Games. The first rival the team entered was the 1993 Island Games, despite Gibraltar not being an island. Gibraltar lost all of its matches, scoring alone one goal and eat up in last locate. They had much more success in the 1995 Island Games, which they hosted. Despite losing their opening crippled against Greenland, Gibraltar bounced back to record their first competitive win, against the Isle of Man. Another victory over Anglesey saw Gibraltar stopping point second in the group, ahead of Anglesey only on goal deviation, and qualify for the semitrailer finals. There, they beat Jersey 1–0, before losing the concluding to the Isle of Wight by the lapp scoreline. In the 1997 Island Games, two wins and two losses in the group stage, followed by a get the better of to Shetland in a playoff, saw Gibraltar finish 6th out of 9 teams. Another poor performance in 1999 saw them finish 11th. Island Games results improved slightly in 2001, as they came 5th, and in 2003 Gibraltar recorded their biggest succeed always, defeating Sark 19–0. other adept results against Greenland and Orkney saw them finish 6th out of 12. Despite these minor successes, Gibraltar did not enter the 2005 tournament. A football team represented Gibraltar at the 2015 version of the games even after Gibraltar was accepted by UEFA. however, the squad was a development team composed of under-19s and over-aged players with no first team senior squad members taking region. [ 11 ] The team was coached by John Moreno .

FIFI “ Wild Cup ” [edit ]

In early summer 2006 Gibraltar participated in the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup where it was ranked 3rd. The tournament was an option World Cup for non-FIFA members, which was lone held once. In Gibraltar ‘s afford match, they drew 1–1 with the hosts, the ‘Republic of St. Pauli ‘, before beating Tibet 5–0 in their second group game to qualify for the semi-finals. There they lost 2–0 to eventual champions Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – following Gibraltar ‘s games against Cyprus in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification games in 2017, Gibraltar achieved a rare feat of playing both Cypriot national teams. In the third place playoff, Gibraltar had a replay against St. Pauli. This time Gibraltar were able to defeat the hosts, to finish in one-third place out of the six teams. [ 12 ]

2008 Four Nations [edit ]

In 2008 Gibraltar accepted an invitation to participate in The Four Nations Tournament, the most outstanding senior football tournament that Gibraltar had always participated in. The 2008 Four Nations Tournament, won by England C, was played in North Wales, and was contested between Wales Semi-Pro, England C, Scotland B and guest nation Gibraltar after Northern Ireland decided not to take region. Though Gibraltar finally finished penetrate of the group, they pushed tournament winners England C close up. [ 13 ]

FIFA membership [edit ]

After becoming a extremity of UEFA ( see below ), the GFA aimed to become a full FIFA member in time to participate in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. [ 14 ] On 26 September 2014, it was announced that Gibraltar ‘s application for FIFA membership was denied, with president Sepp Blatter stating that Gibraltar is ineligible because it is not an mugwump country. This was despite FIFA at the time including 22 members that are not independent countries, including five in UEFA ( Faroe Islands and the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom ). The Gibraltar Football Association then announced that it planned to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the same serve by which Gibraltar successfully gained UEFA membership in 2013. [ 15 ] The CAS heard Gibraltar ‘s encase on 21 May 2015, at which time no prison term frame for a verdict was announced and further legal arguments would however be listen. It was expected that no decision would be reached before the FIFA congress coming the following workweek. [ 16 ] A rule was announced on 2 May 2016, closely a class after the CAS heard Gibraltar ‘s case. As depart of the predominate, FIFA was ordered to transmit Gibraltar ‘s application for membership to the FIFA sexual intercourse which was set to take set the following week in Mexico City. additionally, FIFA was ordered to take “ all necessary steps to admit the Gibraltar Football Association as a broad penis of FIFA without stay. ” If the vote held at the congress was successful, it was believed that Gibraltar would be a last-minute addition to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. [ 17 ] In FIFA ‘s official statement regarding the rule, the organization said that it expected to discuss the matter at the approaching congress and discuss a course of action, including potentially altering the congress agenda to submit Gibraltar ‘s lotion for membership. [ 18 ] On 13 May 2016, Gibraltar was accepted as a member of FIFA with a vote of 172 to 12 in favor. Gibraltar became FIFA ‘s 211th member immediately after the Football Federation of Kosovo was voted extremity 210. [ 19 ]

UEFA toleration [edit ]

Gibraltar starting XI in UEFA debut against Slovakia Gibraltar first applied for UEFA membership in 1999 but was rejected because of intense resistance from Spain. Spain ‘s resistance stemmed not alone from claiming possession of the district but from fear that Gibraltar ‘s acceptance would set a precedent that would inspire the separatist Basque home football team and Catalan national football teams to apply for UEFA membership ampere well. The emergence was voted on again in 2007 but only three penis nations ( England, Scotland, and Wales ) supported Gibraltar ‘s offer after Spain threatened to withdraw spanish teams from all UEFA competitions. UEFA then established rules, which were introduced following atmospheric pressure from Spain, restricting membership to sovereign states recognised as such by the United Nations. The Gibraltar FA then went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2007 and again in 2011 after an appeal and it was ruled that Gibraltar could not be refused membership because the sovereignty rules were not established until after Gibraltar ‘s 1999 and 2007 applications. At this meter, Gibraltar was named a probationary member of UEFA and was granted license to enter national teams in under-17 and under-19 tournaments for the beginning time. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] The GFA was accepted as a full UEFA penis by resolution of the UEFA Congress held in London on 24 May 2013, with only Spain and Belarus opposed. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] This entail Gibraltar became the smallest UEFA penis by population, behind San Marino, then Liechtenstein and the Faroe Islands. As a solution of the vote, the Gibraltar national team became eligible to enter the qualification tournaments for UEFA ‘s premier home team competition, the european Championship. The first such opportunity was the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, which would kick off in September 2014. Following the examples of Armenia–Azerbaijan and Russia–Georgia, it was confirmed that Gibraltar and Spain would be kept aside in qualifying groups. [ 6 ] After being accepted into UEFA, the GFA outlined adjusted eligibility criteria for the choice of players for the national team. To be eligible, a player must be a british pass holder who was born in Gibraltar, or has gibraltarian parents or grandparents, or has attended educate for five years locally. [ 24 ] Former Manchester United, Derby County, Southampton and Stoke City defender Danny Higginbotham, whose uncle Allen Bula was the team director, was eligible to be called up because of this standard adaptation. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] On 18 September 2013, Higginbotham announced that he agreed in “ principle ” to play for Gibraltar. [ 27 ] [ 28 ] Recruiting of English-born players by director Allen Bula was unpopular with some fans, [ 29 ] and in 2015 Bula ‘s successor Jeff Wood said he would use more home-based players and develop local endowment while still searching for eligible players elsewhere. [ 30 ] Gibraltar ‘s beginning official external couple was a 0–0 friendly guide against Slovakia, on 19 November 2013 at the Estadio Algarve in Portugal. [ 31 ] On 23 February 2014, Gibraltar was drawn in Group D for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying aboard Germany, Poland, Georgia, Republic of Ireland and Scotland. Initially, Gibraltar were drawn into the same group as Spain for the tournament but the previous decisiveness to keep the two teams apart in qualifying rounds was uphold and Gibraltar was immediately moved into another group. This was their first base time participating in an official european competition. [ 32 ] In June 2014, Gibraltar recorded their first ever victory under UEFA with a 1–0 win against Malta, the goal coming from Kyle Casciaro. [ 33 ]

euro 2016 modification [edit ]

On 7 September 2014, Gibraltar played their first competitive match – a Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland. Despite coming into the game with optimism and excitement, they were still massive underdogs [ 34 ] and although the half time score was only 1–0 to Poland, it ended 7–0. [ citation needed ] On 11 October 2014, they were defeated once again by 7–0, this meter by Republic of Ireland, in their second Euro 2016 qualifier. In their third equal, they were beaten for the third base time by Georgia 3–0. On 29 March 2015, Gibraltar scored their first always goal in a full moon international competitive equal. Lee Casciaro scored against Scotland at Hampden Park, Glasgow during the inaugural half to level the pit at 1–1. however, Scotland went on to win 6–1. [ 35 ] In July 2015, Englishman Jeff Wood was appointed director, succeeding caretaker Dave Wilson who took over from Gibraltar ‘s first coach Allen Bula in March 2015. [ 36 ] Gibraltar could not repeat their performance of scoring a goal in the next two matches ; losing 7–0 away against Germany [ 37 ] and 4–0 against Republic of Ireland. [ 38 ] On 7 September 2015, Jake Gosling scored Gibraltar ‘s second-ever competitive goal ; netting a late consolation goal as his team was defeated 8–1 by Poland. [ 39 ] Gibraltar finished its maiden over qualify campaign survive in its group with zero points. [ 40 ] With a 0–6 kill to Scotland in the final examination match of qualifying, Gibraltar allowed 56 sum goals throughout qualification, surpassing San Marino ‘s previous record of 53 in a 10-match reservation process. [ 41 ]

stadium [edit ]

Before being accepted into UEFA, the team played its base games at Victoria Stadium, the 5,000-seat national stadium of Gibraltar. There were plans to replace the stadium with a proposed 8,000-seat stadium at Europa Point, which was expected to be completed for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. [ 42 ] [ 43 ] [ 44 ] due to the miss of suitable facilities in Gibraltar, the team played its competitive base matches at Estádio Algarve about four hours away in Portugal, from 2013 until 2018. Former national team coach Allen Bula stated that the team would play at the stadium for “ a few years ” until the Europa Point Stadium was dispatch. [ 45 ] Although the Victoria Stadium could not be used for qualifying matches, UEFA allowed its use for friendlies when Gibraltar chose to do so. [ 46 ] In December 2014 the GFA applied for an exemption from UEFA to allow for competitive matches to be held at the Victoria Stadium although it did not meet minimal requirements. The exemption was filed based upon UEFA regulations which allow for an exemption to be granted because of “ asperity ”. At that time, UEFA said that all schedule matches, such as those during euro 2016 qualification, would take seat in the already-determined locations but a decision would be made for future competitions. In February 2016 the Gibraltar government announced that over the previous four years numerous improvements had been made to the Victoria Stadium including the installation of approved AstroTurf and lighting which surpassed the requirements for a Category 2 stadium but did not quite meet Category 3. These improvements allowed for UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches to be played at the stadium. [ 48 ] In September 2015, after plans for Europa Point were abandoned, the GFA explored other sites including Lathbury Barracks, as UEFA were unwilling at the prison term to fund improvements to Victoria Stadium while it was government owned. [ 49 ] In February 2016 the Government of Gibraltar announced that it expected to be presented for plans at the Lathbury site very soon. [ 48 ] however, in 2017 a distribute was agreed for the Gibraltar FA to purchase Victoria Stadium with UEFA fund, and re-develop the stadium to meet UEFA standards. [ 50 ] The stadium was subsequently approved to host UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying games in March 2020

late results and forthcoming fixtures [edit ]

2021 [edit ]

Personnel [edit ]

stream technical staff [edit ]

As of 23 June 2019 [ 51 ] [ 52 ]

Coaching history [edit ]

Up to date as of 16 November 2021

Manager

Nation

Gibraltar career

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

GF

GA

Win %

Gibraltar
2013–2015

9
1
2
6
3
28
0 11.11
(interim)

Scotland
2015

3
0
0
3
1
17
00 0.00

England
2015–2018

17
0
1
16
4
79
00 0.00
(interim)

Northern Ireland
2018

1
1
0
0
1
0
100.00

Uruguay
2018–

34
4
3
27
15
103
0 11.76

Players [edit ]

current team [edit ]

The adopt players were called up for the stick to 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers : [ 53 ]

  • Match date: 13 November and 16 November 2021
  • Opposition:  Turkey Latvia
  • Caps and goals correct as of: 16 November 2021, after the match against  Latvia

recent call-ups [edit ]

The following players have been called up within the past twelve months .

musician records [edit ]

As of 16 November 2021
Players in bold are still active with Gibraltar.

Most appearances [edit ]

Liam Walker Roy ChipolinaLiam Walker and Roy Chipolina jointly hold the record for most appearances in the history of Gibraltar with 57 caps each

top goalscorers [edit ]

competitive record [edit ]

FIFA World Cup [edit ]

UEFA european championship [edit ]

UEFA Nations League [edit ]

UEFA Nations League record

Season

Division

Group

Round

2018–19
D
4

Group stage

3rd
49th
6
2
0
4
5
15
Steady
2020–21
D
2
1st
49th
4
2
2
0
3
1
Rise
2022–23
C

TBA

To be determined
Total

Best: Group stage

2/2

49th

10

4

2

4

8

16

Island Games [edit ]

*Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Four Nations [edit ]

Year

Round

Position

GP

W

D

L

GS

GA

Wales2008
Group
4th
3
0
0
3
4
11

!Total
1/1
0 Titles
3
0
0
3
4
11

FIFI Wild Cup [edit ]

Year

Round

Position

GP

W

D

L

GS

GA

2006
3rd Place Playoff
3
4
2
1
1
8
4

Total
1/1
0 titles
4
2
1
1
8
4

neck and neck criminal record [edit ]

The following table shows Gibraltar ‘s all-time external record, correct as of 16 November 2021. alone official matches are included .

Opponents

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

W%

First

Last

 Andorra
1
0
1
0
0
0

+0

00 0.00

2021
2021

 Armenia
2
1
0
1
3
6

−3

0 50.00

2018
2018

 Belgium
2
0
0
2
0
15

−15

00 0.00

2016
2017

 Bosnia and Herzegovina
2
0
0
2
0
9

−9

00 0.00

2017
2017

 Bulgaria
1
0
0
1
0
3

−3

00 0.00

2020
2020

 Croatia
1
0
0
1
0
4

−4

00 0.00

2015
2015

 Cyprus
2
0
0
2
2
5

−3

00 0.00

2016
2017

 Denmark
2
0
0
2
0
12

−12

00 0.00

2019
2019

 Estonia
5
0
1
4
1
14

−13

00 0.00

2014
2019

 Faroe Islands
1
0
0
1
1
4

−3

00 0.00

2014
2014

 Georgia
4
0
0
4
2
13

−11

00 0.00

2014
2019

 Germany
2
0
0

2
0
11

−11

00 0.00

2014
2015

 Greece
2
0
0
2
1
8

−7

00 0.00

2016
2017

 Kosovo
1
0
0
1
0
1

−1

00 0.00

2019
2019

 Latvia
4
1
0
3
3
11

−8

0 25.00

2016
2021

 Liechtenstein
5
2
2
1
4
4

+0

0 40.00

2016
2020

 Malta
2
1
0
1
1
2

−1

0 50.00

2014
2020

 Montenegro
2
0
0
2
1
7

−6

00 0.00

2021
2021

 Netherlands
2
0
0
2
0
13

−13

00 0.00

2021
2021

 North Macedonia
2
0
0
2
0
6

−6

00 0.00

2018
2018

 Norway
2
0
0
2
1
8

−7

00 0.00

2021
2021

 Poland
2
0
0
2
1
15

−14

00 0.00

2014
2015

 Portugal
1
0
0
1
0
5

−5

00 0.00

2016
2016

 Republic of Ireland
4
0
0
4
0
14

−14

00 0.00

2014
2019

 San Marino
2
1
1
0
1
0

+1

0 50.00

2020
2020

 Scotland
2
0
0
2
1
12

−11

00 0.00

2015
2015

 Slovakia
1
0
1
0
0
0

+0

00 0.00

2013
2013

 Slovenia
1
0
0
1
0
6

−6

00 0.00

2021
2021

  Switzerland
2
0
0
2
1
10

−9

00 0.00

2019
2019

 Turkey
2
0
0
2
0
9

−9

00 0.00

2021
2021

Total
64
6
6
52
24
227

−203

00 9.38

2013
2021

Non-FIFA record [edit ]

Honours [edit ]

  • Winners (1): 2007
  • Runners-up (1): 1995

See besides [edit ]

  1. ^ Development team from 2015 edition ahead

References [edit ]