Gibraltar's first unofficial national match took place againstJersey in the1993 Island Games in theIsle 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 versusSark, inSaint Martin, Guernsey, whilst their largest unofficial loss was 5–0 versusGreenland – an autonomous region of Denmark – which also took part on the Isle of Wight, inFreshwater.
The history of the Gibraltar national football side can be traced back to April 1923, when it travelled to Spain to play club sideSevilla in a friendly; two games were played and Gibraltar lost both 2–0 and 5–0.[7] The side also managed a draw withReal Madrid in 1949.[9][10]
Before joining UEFA, Gibraltar competed in numerous football competitions, most regularly in theIsland 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 the1995 Island Games, which they hosted. Despite losing their opening game against Greenland, Gibraltar bounced back to record their first competitive win, against theIsle of Man. Another victory overAnglesey saw Gibraltar finish second in the group, ahead of Anglesey only on goal difference, and qualify for the semi-finals. There, they beatJersey 1–0, before losing the final to theIsle of Wight by the same scoreline.
In the1997 Island Games, two wins and two losses in the group stage, followed by a defeat toShetland in a playoff, saw Gibraltar finish 6th out of 9 teams. Another poor performancein 1999 saw them finish 11th.
Island Games results improved slightlyin 2001, as they came 5th, andin 2003 Gibraltar recorded their biggest win ever, defeatingSark 19–0. Other good results against Greenland andOrkney saw them finish 6th out of 12. Despite these minor successes, Gibraltar did not enter the2005 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.[11] The team was coached by John Moreno.
In early summer 2006, Gibraltar participated in the2006 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 beatingTibet 5–0 in their second group game to qualify for the semi-finals. There they lost 2–0 to eventual championsTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - following Gibraltar's games againstCyprus in2018 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.[12]
In 2008, Gibraltar accepted an invitation to participate inThe Four Nations Tournament, the most prominent senior football tournament that Gibraltar had ever participated in. The 2008 Four Nations Tournament, won byEngland C, was played in North Wales, and was contested betweenWales Semi-Pro, England C,Scotland B and guest nation Gibraltar afterNorthern Ireland decided not to take part. Though Gibraltar eventually finished bottom of the group, they pushed tournament winners England C close.[13]
Gibraltar starting XI in UEFA debut againstSlovakia
Gibraltar first applied for UEFA membership in 1999 but was rejected because of intense opposition from Spain. Spain's opposition stemmed not only fromclaiming ownership of the territory but from fear that Gibraltar's acceptance would set a precedent that would inspire the separatistBasque national football team andCatalan 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 andWales)[10] 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 tosovereign states recognised as such by theUnited Nations. The Gibraltar FA then went to theCourt 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.[14][15]
The GFA was accepted as a full UEFA member by resolution of theUEFA Congress held in London on 24 May 2013, with onlySpain andBelarus opposed.[16][17] This meant Gibraltar became the smallest UEFA member by population, behindSan Marino, thenLiechtenstein and theFaroe 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, theEuropean Championship. The first such opportunity was theEuro 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.[6]
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.[18] FormerManchester United,Derby County,Southampton andStoke City defenderDanny Higginbotham, whose uncleAllen Bula was the team manager, was eligible to be called up because of this criterion adjustment.[19][20] On 18 September 2013, Higginbotham announced that he agreed in "principle" to play for Gibraltar.[21][22] Recruiting of English-born players by managerAllen Bula was unpopular with some fans,[23] and in 2015 Bula's successorJeff Wood said he would use more home-based players and develop local talent while still searching for eligible players elsewhere.[24]
Gibraltar'sfirst official international match was a 0–0 friendly draw againstSlovakia, on 19 November 2013 at theEstadio Algarve in Portugal.[25] On 23 February 2014, Gibraltar was drawn in Group D for theUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying alongsideGermany,Poland,Georgia,Republic of Ireland andScotland. Initially, Gibraltar were drawn into the same group asSpain 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.[26]In June 2014, Gibraltar recorded their first ever victory under UEFA with a 1–0 win againstMalta, the goal coming fromKyle Casciaro.[27]
On 7 September 2014, Gibraltar played their first competitive match – a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier againstPoland. Despite coming into the game with optimism and excitement, they were still massive underdogs[28] and although the half time score was only 1–0 to Poland, it ended 7–0.[29] On 11 October 2014, they were defeated once again by 7–0, this time byRepublic 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 againstScotland atHampden Park, Glasgow during the first half to level the match at 1–1. However, Scotland went on to win 6–1.[30] In July 2015, EnglishmanJeff Wood was appointed manager, succeeding caretaker Dave Wilson who took over from Gibraltar's first manager Allen Bula in March 2015.[31] Gibraltar could not repeat their performance of scoring a goal in the next two matches; losing 7–0 away againstGermany[32] and 4–0 against Republic of Ireland.[33] 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.[34] Gibraltar finished its maiden qualifying campaign last in its group with zero points.[35] With a 0–6 defeat to Scotland in the final match of qualifying, Gibraltar allowed 56 total goals throughout qualification, surpassingSan Marino's previous record of 53 in a 10-match qualification process.[36]
Having been granted UEFA membership, the GFA aimed to become a fullFIFA member in time to participate inqualifiers for the upcoming2018 World Cup.[37] On 26 September 2014, it was announced that Gibraltar's application for FIFA membership had been denied, on the grounds that Gibraltar was not an independent country, and therefore ineligible for FIFA membership, despite multiple non-independent countries already being FIFA members.[38] TheGibraltar Football Association announced that it planned to once again appeal to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport, the same process by which they had successfully gainedUEFA membership in 2013.[39][40] CAS heard Gibraltar's case on 21 May 2015, at which point no time frame for a verdict was announced.[41] 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."[42] 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.[43]
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 afterKosovo was voted member 210.[44]
Gibraltar participated inWorld Cup qualifiers for the first time for the2018 edition. As Gibraltar were granted FIFA membership after the qualification draw had already taken place, they were belatedly added toGroup H alongsideBelgium,Bosnia-Herzegovina,Greece,Estonia andCyprus.[45] On 6 September 2016,Liam Walker scored Gibraltar's first World Cup qualifying goal in a 1–4 defeat to Greece.[46] Gibraltar finished bottom of Group H, losing all of their matches with a record of 3 goals scored for 47 conceded.[47]
On 25 March 2018, Gibraltar achieved their first victory as a FIFA member in a friendly match againstLatvia atVictoria Stadium, winning 1–0 thanks to a goal from Liam Walker. This was the side's second official victory and their first inside Gibraltar.[48]
Gibraltar's first victory in an official competitive fixture came in the inaugural2018–19 Nations League, a 1–0 win away toArmenia on 13 October 2018 withJoseph Chipolina converting a penalty in the 50th minute for the game's only goal.[49] This was followed by a second consecutive win three days later, 2–1 at home againstLiechtenstein.[50] Gibraltar finished their Nations League campaign 3rd in Group 4 of League D.
During theirqualification campaign forEuro 2020, Gibraltar lost all eight of their matches, some by heavy margins, including matches againstDenmark (0–6 home and away) andSwitzerland (0–4 away, 1–6 home). Gibraltar managed to score 3 goals (1 against Switzerland and 2 againstGeorgia) while conceding 31. They also put up a good fight againstIreland, Round of 16 finishers in theprevious edition, losing by narrow margins on both occasions (0–1 home, 0–2 away). Gibraltar had suffered heavy defeats when the sides met previously during thequalifiers for Euro 2016.
In the2020–21 Nations League, Gibraltar achieved promotion to League C by finishing an unbeaten campaign top of their group, thanks to two 1–0 wins (home toSan Marino and away atLiechtenstein) and two draws (0–0 away atSan Marino and 1–1 at home toLiechtenstein).[51] In the following2022-23 edition, Gibraltar managed an impressive draw withBulgaria, a 1–1 result at home with captain Liam Walker equalising from the penalty spot in the 61st minute. This was Gibraltar's first point on their first appearance inLeague C. However, the team finished bottom of their group - losing each of their other five matches - and qualified for the two-leggedrelegation play-out where they facedLithuania. Gibraltar lost each leg 0–1, and were relegated back toLeague D for the2024–25 edition.
On 18 November 2023, during theUEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, Gibraltar suffered the heaviest defeat in their history, losing0–14 toFrance. The team failed to score a single goal during the campaign, finishing bottom of Group B with no points and 41 goals conceded.
On 6 June 2024, during afriendly match, a vastly re-vamped Gibraltar heldWales to a 0–0 draw at theEstádio Algarve in a result that was described as "embarrassing" for the away side,[52] and subsequently proved to be the last game for Welsh managerRob Page before he was sacked.
After a disappointing2024–25 UEFA Nations League campaign, Julio Ribas stepped down as head coach on 26 February 2025.[53] Former internationalScott Wiseman was appointed as interim head coach shortly afterwards,[54] and in May 2025 it was announced that he was to remain head coach throughout the2026 FIFA World Cup cycle and UEFA Nations League play-offs.[55]
Before being accepted into UEFA, the team played its home games atVictoria Stadium, the 5,000-seatnational 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 forUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.[56][57][58] Due to the lack of suitable facilities in Gibraltar, the team played its competitive home matches atEstádio Algarve about four hours away inPortugal, from 2013 until 2018. Former national team managerAllen Bula stated that the team would play at the stadium for "a few years" until the Europa Point Stadium was complete.[59] Although the Victoria Stadium could not be used for qualifying matches, UEFA allowed its use for friendlies when Gibraltar chose to do so.[60]
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 minimum requirements. The exemption was filed based upon UEFA regulations which allow for an exemption to be granted because of "hardship". At that time, UEFA said that all scheduled matches, such as those during Euro 2016 qualification, would take place in the already-determined locations but a determination would be made for future competitions.[61] 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 approvedAstroTurf and lighting which surpassed the requirements for a Category 2 stadium but did not quite meet Category 3. These improvements allowed forUEFA Champions League andEuropa League matches to be played at the stadium.[62]
In September 2015, after plans for Europa Point were abandoned, the GFA explored other sites includingLathbury Barracks, as UEFA were unwilling at the time to fund improvements to Victoria Stadium while it was government owned.[63] In February 2016 the Government of Gibraltar announced that it expected to be presented for plans at the Lathbury site very soon.[62] However, in 2017 a deal was agreed for the Gibraltar FA to purchase Victoria Stadium with UEFA funding, and re-develop the stadium to meet UEFA standards.[64] The stadium was subsequently approved to hostUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying games in March 2020. However, delays to the stadium redevelopment due to theCOVID-19 pandemic meant that in October 2022 it was announced that Gibraltar would once again have to play competitive games in Portugal from March 2023 while their home stadium is rebuilt.[65] In May 2024, it was confirmed that UEFA had given permission for their2024–25 UEFA Nations League games to be hosted at the Europa Point Stadium within theEuropa Sports Park.[66]
^Doyle, Garry (11 October 2014)."We can reach play-offs, insists Gibraltar manager".Irish Independent.Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved7 September 2015.Higginbotham, who is Bula's nephew, is one of several English-born players who have been drafted in, much to the chagrin of some Gibraltarians, who have heaped abuse on the manager for doing so.
^Fitzmaurice, Aidan (3 September 2015)."'Green army not a worry for us', says Gibraltar boss Jeff Wood".The Herald.Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved7 September 2015.Gibraltar, bottom of Group D, have changed their approach of late: they're not so keen to recruit eligible players via the 'granny rule' but instead are intent on bring through home grown talent.
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