The Gibraltar national football team

The Gibraltar national football team represents Gibraltar in international football competitions, and is controlled by the Gibraltar Football Association. Gibraltar applied for full 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. Gibraltar is the second smallest UEFA member in terms of population (only San Marino has a smaller population) and the smallest in terms of area.

Despite not being an island, Gibraltar set up its first official side for the football competition at the 1993 Island Games and has been a regular in the tournament, winning the 2007 edition.

History

Pre-UEFA

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.

Foundation

The history of the Gibraltarian 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. The side also managed a draw with Real Madrid in 1949.

Island Games

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

This page also has a version in other languages :  Сборная Гибралтара по футболу (russian)