Football is one of the most popular sports in the British dependent territory of Gibraltar . Football on the peninsula, brought here by the British military in the XIX century , has a long tradition. In 1895, the Gibraltar Football Association was created, making it one of the oldest football associations in the world.
Content
History
The civilian population of Gibraltar borrowed the game of football from the British military in the late XIX century . It is not known exactly when the first football clubs were formed, but based on the records of that time, the Prince of Wales football club already existed in 1892 , and the Gibraltar football club was created in November 1893 .
Between 1895 and 1907 in Gibraltar, the only football tournament organized by the Gibraltar Civic Football Association was the Merchants Cup . The cup was awarded by Gibraltar trade organizations. In the first final of the Cup, which gathered 1,500 spectators, FC Gibraltar and FC Jubili met.
In 1902, the military authorities of Gibraltar allocated one of their four football fields in the north of the territory to host matches by civilian teams. Up to this point, the Football Association of Gibraltar did not have its own stadium and, to hold games within the framework of the annual Trade Cup, was forced to organize, as far as possible, friendly matches of its clubs with the teams of British military personnel.
Football League
The Gibraltar Football League was created in October 1907 . Although the military contingent had long since organized a football league, civilian teams were not allowed to play in it. The first championship was presented by the struggle of eight teams with the leader of those times, FC Prince of Wales. The success of football matches has caused an increase in the number of teams wishing to join the league. In 1909, the second division of the league was created, and in 1910 the competition was divided for senior and junior teams. The growth of the popularity of football contributed to the entry into the Football Association of England in 1909 . Years later, the Gibraltar Civic Football Association was renamed the Football Association of Gibraltar and to this day it is the organizer of the football league and other tournaments held on the peninsula.
Golden Era
The period between 1949 and 1955 is considered the “golden era” of football in Gibraltar. During this period, such clubs as Real Madrid , Atletico Madrid , Real Valladolid , Admira Wacker and many others came to the peninsula to meet with the local team . Despite the status of lovers, the players of Gibraltar adequately opposed the famous clubs.
Team
The history of the national team began with matches against teams of British soldiers. The highest success in its history was a draw in a match with Real Madrid in 1949. At present, the Gibraltar national team holds the overwhelming number of their matches with teams of non- FIFA territories. In 2007, she won the Island Games , held in Rhodes .
The Gibraltar national team plays their matches, like most local clubs at the Victoria Stadium, which seats 5,000 spectators and is licensed by FIFA .
Application for joining UEFA
In January 1997, the Football Association of Gibraltar submitted an application for membership in FIFA, which in March 1999 , stating that the application complies with the requirements of the organization’s Charter, submitted it for consideration to UEFA . This circumstance caused a sharp protest of the Spanish representatives, who expressed the official position of their country, that Gibraltar is a part of Spain. In this regard, in 2002, UEFA decided that its future members should be independent states. Returning to this issue again at its Düsseldorf Congress in 2007 , UEFA rejected Gibraltar’s bid by 45 votes to 3 (with 5 abstentions).
On October 1, 2012, a meeting of the UEFA executive committee took place in St. Petersburg. According to the decision of the executive committee, from October 1, Gibraltar became a temporary member of the UEFA . This decision was made following the relevant decision issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on August 1, 2011. The decision on Gibraltar’s permanent membership in UEFA was made at the XXXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress on May 24, 2013.
Implications
The result of the final UEFA vote was perceived by many residents of Gibraltar as an act of aggression and discrimination by Spain. Many denied accession was understood as Spain’s aggression against Gibraltar. Spain, on the other hand, simply viewed this as an important line in the matter that would allow the Gibraltar officials to gain recognition from Spain of the controversial status of Gibraltar . Spain pointed to the UN position on Gibraltar as a non-self-governing territory, and acknowledged that this was a “political issue”. Gibraltar officials, in turn, promised to defend the independence of the territory.
Despite the fact that Gibraltar is located in Europe , as one of the ways to enter the international football arena, it was suggested to ask for membership in the African Football Confederation , which Spain’s veto will not apply .