| UEFA | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Headquarters | World Trade Center,Gibraltar |
| FIFA affiliation | 13 May 2016 |
| UEFA affiliation | 24 May 2013 |
| President | Michael Llamas,KC |
| Website | gibraltarfa.com |
TheGibraltar Football Association or alsoGibraltar FA (GFA) is thegoverning body forGibraltarianfootball andfutsal. It was formed as theGibraltar Civilian Football Association in 1895, changing to its current name in later years. It isone of the oldest football associations in the world[citation needed]. From October 2012, the GFA were provisional members ofUEFA and theGibraltar national futsal team, under-19 and under-17 representative teams participated in the 2013/14 UEFA season competitions. At the XXXVIIUEFA Congress held in London on 24 May 2013, Gibraltar was accepted as a full member of UEFA. Gibraltar were admitted to FIFA as a full member on 13 May 2016 at the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico.[1]
The GFA was formed as an increasing number offootball clubs were coming into existence inGibraltar, and the association was designed to bring some form of organisation to the game there. Between the association's formation and 1907 the only football competition in Gibraltar was theMerchant's Cup. However, in 1907 the GFA established aleague to complement the existing cup competition.
By 1901 the GFA had established a representativenational team, competing against British military teams. This representative team continued to play down the years, their highlight probably being a draw againstReal Madrid in 1949.[citation needed]
The GFA affiliated withThe Football Association in 1909, and became a full member ofFIFA in 2016 allowing its national team to compete in all international competitions. This attempt was met with fierce opposition from theRoyal Spanish Football Federation[2] but was ratified on 13 May 2016 at the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico.
The GFA's application to become a member of FIFA was filed in 1997. Two years later, FIFA confirmed the opening of the procedure and forwarded the GFA application to the appropriate continental confederation, UEFA, since according to FIFA statutes it is the responsibility of confederations to grant membership status to applicants. In 2000, a joint delegation of UEFA and FIFA conducted an inspection on the GFA's facilities and infrastructure. The Spanish FA strongly opposed the GFA's application.[3][4] In 2001, UEFA changed its statutes so that only associations in a country "recognised by the United Nations as an independent State" could become members. On such grounds, UEFA denied the GFA's application.
Current FIFA and UEFA members include several federations which cannot be said to represent fully independent nations, such as the UKHome Nations (England,Northern Ireland,Scotland andWales),the Faroe Islands,Guam,Hong Kong,Macau,New Caledonia,Puerto Rico andTahiti (French Polynesia). Additionally,French Guiana,Guadeloupe,Martinique andSaint Martin each have national teams which, despite not being FIFA members, are allowed to compete at theCONCACAF confederation level. FIFA has also accepted members from other British overseas territories who compete in FIFA World Cup qualification tournaments despite not being sovereign states, includingAnguilla,Bermuda,British Virgin Islands,Cayman Islands,Montserrat andTurks and Caicos Islands.
The GFA appealed to the world's highest sporting court, theCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which in 2003 ruled that the GFA application should be handled according to the old statute.[5] However, UEFA continued to refuse accepting the GFA as member. In August 2006, the CAS ruled again that Gibraltar had to be allowed as a full UEFA and FIFA member, and on 8 December 2006, it was announced that Gibraltar had become a provisional member of UEFA.
However, full membership required a vote of the UEFA membership. Leading up to this vote, the Spanish football federation lobbied against Gibraltar's membership. The Federation's presidentÁngel María Villar attributed Spain's opposition tothe Spanish claim over Gibraltar.[6] He also claimed it was a political issue and referred to theTreaty of Utrecht of 1713.[7] On 26 January 2007 at theUEFA Congress held inDüsseldorf (Germany), Gibraltar's application to become a full member of UEFA was rejected,[8] with 45 votes against, 3 in favour (namely,England,Scotland andWales), and 4 undecided.
On 21 March 2012 the request for full UEFA membership by Gibraltar was discussed again, and a road map which includes financial and educational support from UEFA was agreed. This road map was to run until the OrdinaryUEFA Congress in 2013, when member associations would vote on the request for admission.[9] UEFA's Executive Committee admitted the GFA as a provisional member as of 1 October 2012, pending a vote at its Congress in May 2013 to make it a full member.[10]
After the vote at theUEFA Congress held in London on 24 May 2013, Gibraltar was accepted as a full UEFA member. A vote was carried out, a clear majority was found to have voted to admit Gibraltar to UEFA. Two national associations; Belarus and Spain voted against the proposal.[11]
Gibraltar became the smallest UEFA member by population, behindSan Marino, thenLiechtenstein and theFaroe Islands. Following the example of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russia and Georgia, it was confirmed that Gibraltar and Spain would be kept apart in qualifying groups in all major tournaments such as theFIFA World Cup and theEuropean Championship (the Euros).[12]
As part of the celebrations for the GFA's achievement, a 54p stamp was issued by theGibraltar Philatelic Bureau commemorating the association becoming the 54th member of UEFA.[13]
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.[14]
And in 2000, the Spanish Football Federation said it radically opposed Gibraltar's membership of the organisation and would refuse to take part in any competition which involved the colony.
This happened after pressure from Spain which still claims sovereignty over Gibraltar after it was ceded to Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. It refuses to recognise Gibraltar and there is an edict from theConsejo Superior de Deportes to all sports federations in Spain that they should block any membership application from organisations in Gibraltar.
Villar said that "it is a political issue and since 1713 we have not found a political solution to this situation, because it is so difficult to resolve."
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