Gibraltar Football Association
| UEFA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Founded | 1895 |
| Headquarters | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar |
| FIFA affiliation | 13 May 2016 |
| UEFA affiliation | 24 May 2013 |
| President | Michael Llamas |
| Website | http://www.gibraltarfa.com/ |
The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) was formed as the Gibraltar Civilian Football Association in 1895, changing to its current name in later years. It is one of the oldest football associations in the world. From October 2012, the GFA were provisional members of UEFA and the Gibraltar national futsal team, under-19 and under-17 representative teams participated in the 2013/14 UEFA season competitions. At the XXXVII UEFA 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 13th May 2016 at the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico
The GFA was formed as an increasing number of football clubs were coming into existence in Gibraltar, 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 the Merchant's Cup. However, in 1907 the GFA established a league to complement the existing cup competition.
By 1901 the GFA had established a representative national team, competing against British military teams. This representative team continued to play down the years, their highlight probably being a draw against Real Madrid C.F. in 1949.
The GFA affiliated with The Football Association in 1909, but is currently trying to become a full member of FIFA so that its national team is allowed to compete in more international competitions. This attempt was met with fierce opposition from the Royal Spanish Football Federation and has been unsuccessful to date.
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. 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.
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