Gibraltar national football team

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 result was a 2–1 loss for the Gibraltarians. Gibraltar's largest unofficial win was 19–0 versus Sark, in St. Martin, Guernsey, whilst their largest unofficial loss was 5–0 versus Greenland – an autonomous region of Denmark – which also took part on the Isle of Wight, in Freshwater.

The history of the Gibraltar national football side can be traced back to April 1923, when it travelled to Spain to play club side Sevilla in a friendly; two games were played and Gibraltar lost both 2–0 and 5–0.[6] The side also managed a draw with Real Madrid in 1949.[8][9]

Before joining UEFA, Gibraltar competed in numerous football competitions, most regularly in the Island Games.

The first competition the team entered was the 1993 Island Games, despite Gibraltar not being an island. Gibraltar lost all of its matches, scoring only one goal and finishing in last place.

They had much more success in the 1995 Island Games, which they hosted. Despite losing their opening game against Greenland, Gibraltar bounced back to record their first competitive win, against the Isle of Man. Another victory over Anglesey saw Gibraltar finish second in the group, ahead of Anglesey only on goal difference, and qualify for the semi-finals. There, they beat Jersey 1–0, before losing the final to the Isle of Wight by the same scoreline.

In the 1997 Island Games, two wins and two losses in the group stage, followed by a defeat 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 win ever, defeating Sark 19–0. Other good 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 edition 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 part.[10] The team was coached by John Moreno.

In early summer 2006 Gibraltar participated in the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup where it was ranked 3rd. The tournament was an alternative World Cup for non-FIFA members, which was only held once. In Gibraltar's opening 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 rematch against St. Pauli. This time Gibraltar were able to defeat the hosts, to finish in third place out of the six teams.[11]

In 2008 Gibraltar accepted an invitation to participate in The Four Nations Tournament, the most prominent senior football tournament that Gibraltar had ever 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 part. Though Gibraltar eventually finished bottom of the group, they pushed tournament winners England C close.[12]

After becoming a member of UEFA (see below), the GFA aimed to become a full FIFA member in time to participate in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.[13] 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 independent 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 process by which Gibraltar successfully gained UEFA membership in 2013.[14] The CAS heard Gibraltar's case on 21 May 2015, at which time no time frame for a verdict was announced and further legal arguments would still be heard. It was expected that no decision would be reached before the FIFA congress coming the following week.[15] A ruling was announced on 2 May 2016, nearly a year after the CAS heard Gibraltar's case. As part of the ruling, FIFA was ordered to transmit Gibraltar's application for membership to the FIFA congress which was set to take place the following week in Mexico City. Additionally, FIFA was ordered to take "all necessary steps to admit the Gibraltar Football Association as a full member of FIFA without delay." 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.[16] In FIFA's official statement regarding the ruling, the organization said that it expected to discuss the matter at the upcoming congress and discuss a course of action, including potentially altering the congress agenda to submit Gibraltar's application for membership.[17] On 13 May 2016, Gibraltar was accepted as a member of FIFA with a vote of 172 to 12 in favour. Gibraltar became FIFA's 211th member immediately after the Football Federation of Kosovo was voted member 210.[18]

Gibraltar starting XI in UEFA debut against Slovakia

Gibraltar first applied for UEFA membership in 1999 but was rejected because of intense opposition from Spain. Spain's opposition stemmed not only from claiming ownership of the territory but from fear that Gibraltar's acceptance would set a precedent that would inspire the separatist Basque national football team and Catalan national football teams to apply for UEFA membership as well. The issue was voted on again in 2007 but only three member nations (England, Scotland, and Wales)[9] supported Gibraltar's bid after Spain threatened to withdraw Spanish teams from all UEFA competitions. UEFA then established rules, which were introduced following 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 time, Gibraltar was named a provisional member of UEFA and was granted permission to enter national teams in under-17 and under-19 tournaments for the first time.[19][20]

The GFA was accepted as a full UEFA member by resolution of the UEFA Congress held in London on 24 May 2013, with only Spain and Belarus opposed.[21][22] This meant Gibraltar became the smallest UEFA member by population, behind San Marino, then Liechtenstein and the Faroe Islands. As a result of the vote, the Gibraltar national team became eligible to enter the qualification tournaments for UEFA's premier national 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 apart in qualifying groups.[5]

After being accepted into UEFA, the GFA outlined adjusted eligibility criteria for the selection of players for the national squad. To be eligible, a player must be a British passport holder who was born in Gibraltar, or has Gibraltarian parents or grandparents, or has attended school for five years locally.[23] Former Manchester United, Derby County, Southampton and Stoke City defender Danny Higginbotham, whose uncle Allen Bula was the team manager, was eligible to be called up because of this criteria adjustment.[24][25] On 18 September 2013, Higginbotham announced that he agreed in "principle" to play for Gibraltar.[26][27] Recruiting of English-born players by manager Allen Bula was unpopular with some fans,[28] and in 2015 Bula's successor Jeff Wood said he would use more home-based players and develop local talent while still searching for eligible players elsewhere.[29]

Gibraltar's first official international match was a 0–0 friendly draw against Slovakia, on 19 November 2013 at the Estadio Algarve in Portugal.[30] On 23 February 2014, Gibraltar was drawn in Group D for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying alongside Germany, Poland, Georgia, Republic of Ireland and Scotland. Initially, Gibraltar were drawn into the same group as Spain for the tournament but the previous decision to keep the two teams apart in qualifying rounds was upheld and Gibraltar was immediately moved into another group. This was their first time participating in an official European competition.[31] In June 2014, Gibraltar recorded their first ever victory under UEFA with a 1–0 win against Malta, the goal coming from Kyle Casciaro.[32]

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[33] and although the half time score was only 1–0 to Poland, it ended 7–0.[34] On 11 October 2014, they were defeated once again by 7–0, this time by Republic of Ireland, in their second Euro 2016 qualifier. In their third match, they were beaten for the third time by Georgia 3–0.

On 29 March 2015, Gibraltar scored their first ever goal in a full international competitive match. Lee Casciaro scored against Scotland at Hampden Park, Glasgow during the first half to level the match at 1–1. However, Scotland went on to win 6–1.[35] In July 2015, Englishman Jeff Wood was appointed manager, succeeding caretaker Dave Wilson who took over from Gibraltar's first manager 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 qualifying campaign last in its group with zero points.[40] With a 0–6 defeat to Scotland in the final match of qualifying, Gibraltar allowed 56 total goals throughout qualification, surpassing San Marino's previous record of 53 in a 10-match qualification process.[41]

As of 19 November 2022[52][53]

Position	Name
Head coach	Julio César Ribas
Assistant coach	José Carlos Gil Prieto
Goalkeeper coach	Christian Wink
Team Manager	Gary Robba
Team doctor 1	Dr Keith Gracia
Team doctor 2	Issac Rodriguez
Head physiotherapist Fitness coach	Iain Latin
Team physiotherapist	Andrew Rodriguez

Up to date as of 16 October 2023

Manager	Nation	Gibraltar career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	Win %
Allen Bula		2013–2015	9	1	2	6	3	28	011.11
David Wilson (interim)		2015	3	0	0	3	1	17	000.00
Jeff Wood		2015–2018	17	0	1	16	4	79	000.00
Desi Curry (interim)		2018	1	1	0	0	1	0	100.00
Julio César Ribas		2018–	52	6	6	40	21	147	011.54

The following players were called up to the squad for the following friendly and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match:[54]

• Match date: 11 and 16 October 2023
• Opposition:  Wales and  Republic of Ireland
• Caps and goals correct as of: 16 October 2023, after the match against  Republic of Ireland.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
23	1GK	Dayle Coleing	(1996-10-23) 23 October 1996	29	0	Lincoln Red Imps
1	1GK	Bradley Banda	(1998-01-20) 20 January 1998	5	0	St Joseph's
13	1GK	Christian Lopez	(2001-02-10) 10 February 2001	0	0	Bruno's Magpies
14	2DF	Roy Chipolina (captain)	(1983-01-20) 20 January 1983	72	5	Lincoln Red Imps
3	2DF	Joseph Chipolina	(1987-12-14) 14 December 1987	56	2	Bruno's Magpies
4	2DF	Jack Sergeant	(1995-02-27) 27 February 1995	56	0	Lincoln Red Imps
12	2DF	Jayce Olivero	(1998-07-02) 2 July 1998	52	0	Helsingør
5	2DF	Louie Annesley	(2000-05-03) 3 May 2000	39	1	Dundalk
16	2DF	Aymen Mouelhi	(1986-09-14) 14 September 1986	34	0	St Joseph's
20	2DF	Ethan Britto	(2000-11-30) 30 November 2000	34	0	Lincoln Red Imps
2	2DF	Ethan Jolley	(1997-03-29) 29 March 1997	26	0	St Joseph's
	2DF	Ethan Santos	(1998-12-22) 22 December 1998	6	0	Manchester 62
15	2DF	Kenneth Chipolina	(1994-04-08) 8 April 1994	3	0	Mons Calpe
10	3MF	Liam Walker	(1988-04-13) 13 April 1988	73	5	Lincoln Red Imps
17	3MF	Kian Ronan	(2001-03-09) 9 March 2001	29	0	King's Lynn Town
18	3MF	Anthony Hernandez	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995	28	1	Bruno's Magpies
	3MF	Mohamed Badr	(1989-11-25) 25 November 1989	15	0	Manchester 62
6	3MF	Nicholas Pozo	(2005-01-19) 19 January 2005	9	0	Cádiz
11	3MF	Evan De Haro	(2002-09-28) 28 September 2002	2	0	Bruno's Magpies
	3MF	Scott Ballantine	(1996-04-12) 12 April 1996	1	0	Bruno's Magpies
7	4FW	Lee Casciaro	(1981-09-29) 29 September 1981	59	3	Lincoln Red Imps
19	4FW	Tjay De Barr	(2000-03-13) 13 March 2000	36	3	Wycombe Wanderers
21	4FW	Jamie Coombes	(1996-05-27) 27 May 1996	30	0	Bruno's Magpies
9	4FW	Ayoub El Hmidi	(2000-09-30) 30 September 2000	5	0	Torrijos
22	4FW	Dylan Peacock	(2001-08-24) 24 August 2001	0	0	Mons Calpe
8	4FW	Michael Ruiz	(2000-12-07) 7 December 2000	0	0	Lynx

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Jaylan Hankins	(2000-11-17) 17 November 2000	0	0	Bruno's Magpies	v.  Republic of Ireland, 19 June 2023
DF	Bernardo Lopes	(1993-07-30) 30 July 1993	15	0	Lincoln Red Imps	v.  Greece, 10 September 2023
DF	Scott Wiseman	(1985-10-09) 9 October 1985	38	0	Retired	v.  Republic of Ireland, 19 June 2023RET
MF	Niels Hartman	(2001-01-17) 17 January 2001	5	0	Vermont Catamounts	v.  Greece, 10 September 2023
MF	Graeme Torrilla	(1997-09-03) 3 September 1997	26	1	Lincoln Red Imps	v.  Netherlands, 27 March 2023
MF	Julian Valarino	(2000-06-23) 23 June 2000	22	0	Lincoln Red Imps	v.  Netherlands, 27 March 2023
FW	Reece Styche	(1989-05-03) 3 May 1989	31	3	AFC Telford United	v.  Greece, 10 September 2023
FW	Michael Yome	(1994-08-29) 29 August 1994	9	0	St Joseph's	v.  Netherlands, 27 March 2023
FW	Kelvin Morgan	(1997-11-14) 14 November 1997	2	0	St Joseph's	v.  Andorra, 19 November 2022
INJ Withdrew from the squad due to an injury PRE Preliminary squad RET Retired from the national team WD Withdrew for other reasons

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1989–1991	Did not enter
1993	7th place match	8	4	0	0	4	1	9
1995	Runners-up	2	5	4	0	1	5	3
1997	5th place match	6	5	2	0	3	13	8
1999	11th place match	11	4	1	0	3	9	11
2001	5th place match	5	4	3	0	1	7	2
2003	5th place match	6	5	3	0	2	29	5
2005	Did not enter
2007	Champions	1	4	3	1	0	9	2
2009	9th place match	9	4	2	1	1	12	3
2011	5th place match	5	3	2	0	1	14	7
2013	Did not enter
2015[nb 1]	9th place match	10	4	1	1	2	3	6
2017	Did not enter
2019	Replaced by 2019 Inter Games Football Tournament
Total	10/15	1 Title	42	21	3	18	102	56

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