Global InformationGibraltar national football team results information
The Gibraltar national football team is the representative association football team of Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Its governing body is the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) and it competes as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Organised football has been played in Gibraltar since the 19th century.[1] The GFA first applied for UEFA membership in 1997 which was rejected, as UEFA would only allow membership for applicants recognised as sovereign states by the United Nations.[2] They were unsuccessful in their second application in 2007 when only three of UEFA's 52 associations voted in their favour.[3] In October 2012, they reapplied for membership which was granted in March 2013.[4][5] Before 2018 the team's home ground, Victoria Stadium, did not meet UEFA's standards for competitive internationals, although it could be used for international friendlies. Gibraltar's first full international was played at the Estádio Algarve, located between Faro and Loulé, Portugal, which Gibraltar used as their home stadium for competitive matches between 2014 and 2018, and again from 2023.[6]
Gibraltar's first announced matches were two friendlies scheduled for 5 March and 26 May 2014 as a home-and-away series against Estonia.[7] They subsequently scheduled a match against Slovakia for 19 November 2013 which became Gibraltar's official debut, the match ended 0–0.[8] In 2014 Gibraltar entered its first major international competition: the qualifying rounds for UEFA Euro 2016, they lost all ten matches, scoring 2 goals and conceding 56, therefore failing to qualify for the main tournament.[2] On 13 May 2016, Gibraltar was accepted as a member of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) after its original application in 2014 was denied;[9][10] as a result Gibraltar was allowed to participate in the qualification process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[11][12]
The team recorded its first victory in June 2014, 1–0 against Malta in a friendly match. Their largest victory came in another friendly match in November 2022, 2–0 against Liechtenstein. Their worst loss is a 14–0 against France in a UEFA European Championship qualifier on 18 November 2023. As of the match played on 26 March 2024, Gibraltar's overall record is 86 fixtures played, winning 8, drawing 9 and losing the remaining 69.
- ^ "Promoting growth in Gibraltar". UEFA. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ a b Rose, Gary (18 November 2013). "Gibraltar: Can Uefa's newest football nation rock Europe?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Gibraltar fail to get Uefa place". BBC Sport. 2 January 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "Gibraltar given full Uefa membership at London Congress". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ "Congress decisions bring Gibraltar on board" (Press release). UEFA. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ Nash, Matthew (19 November 2013). "Six things you didn't know about Gibraltar's national football team". The Metro. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "Gibraltar to complete Estonia's collection". UEFA. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ Bailey, Graeme (30 October 2013). "Slovakia to be Gibraltar's first opponents". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ "Gibraltar voted into FIFA". FIFA. 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Gibraltar FA to appeal to Cas after membership bid is rejected by Fifa". The Guardian. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Gibraltar, Kosovo granted FIFA membership ahead of 2018 World Cup qualifying". FourFourTwo. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups". FIFA. 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.