Gibraltarian football clubs in European competitions

All football teams in Gibraltar share the Victoria Stadium[1]

Gibraltar became a full member of UEFA, the governing body of association football in Europe, on 24 May 2013.[2] Teams from the territory can qualify for UEFA's two main continental competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

Lincoln Red Imps have represented Gibraltar in each of its entries into the Champions League. At the first attempt in 2014, they lost in the first qualifying round to HB, despite drawing the first leg at home. In 2015 they advanced past FC Santa Coloma, then lost to FC Midtjylland. A year later, they dispatched Flora, and then lost to former European champions Celtic in spite of winning the first leg.

The team Europa has been the only team to represent Gibraltar in the Europa League, since 2014. In each of their first two entries, they suffered heavy losses in the first qualifying round, to FC Vaduz and Slovan Bratislava respectively. In 2016, they advanced by beating Pyunik, then lost in the second qualifying round to AIK.

UEFA Champions League

Lincoln Red Imps, after winning the Gibraltar Premier Division for the 12th consecutive time, were the first team from the territory to enter a UEFA competition, the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. They entered in the first qualifying round, where they were drawn against HB Tórshavn, champions of the Faroe Islands. On 2 July 2014, they hosted the first leg at the Victoria Stadium, and took the lead through a penalty kick by Joseph Chipolina, but Levi Hanssen equalised in a 1–1 draw.[3] Six days later in the second leg at Tórsvøllur, HB won 5–2 (6–3 aggregate).[4]

In the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, Lincoln again represented Gibraltar, and were drawn in the first qualifying round against FC Santa Coloma, the champions of Andorra. The first leg at home on 30 June 2015 was a goalless draw, then a week later they travelled to the second at the Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella. Ildefons Lima put the hosts ahead before half time, but Lincoln responded with goals from Anthony Bardon and Lee Casciaro to win 2–1, becoming the first Gibraltarians to reach the second qualifying round.[5] They lost there, 3–0 on aggregate to FC Midtjylland from Denmark.

Lincoln represented Gibraltar for a third consecutive time next season. In the first qualifying round, they were drawn against FC Flora from Estonia. In the first leg on 28 June at A Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Chipolina scored an away goal in a 2–1 loss.[6] Eight days later in the second leg, a Chipolina penalty and another goal by Antonio Calderón gave the team a 3–2 aggregate win. In the next round, Lincoln faced Celtic, champions of Scotland and 1967 European champions. They won the home leg 1–0 on 12 July, Casciaro scoring the only goal after 48 minutes,[7] but lost 3–0 at Celtic Park eight days later.[8]

Season Team Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2014–15 Lincoln Red Imps 1Q Faroe Islands HB 1–1 2–5 3–6
2015–16 1Q Andorra FC Santa Coloma 0–0 2–1 2–1
2Q Denmark Midtjylland 0–2 0–1 0–3
2016–17 1Q Estonia Flora 2–0 1–2 3–2
2Q Scotland Celtic 1–0 0–3 1–3
Notes

UEFA Europa League

College Europa, runners-up to Lincoln in the 2014 Rock Cup, became the first Gibraltarian club to enter the UEFA Europa League, losing 4–0 on aggregate in the first qualifying round to FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein.[9]

The following season, Europa again qualified, as league runners-up. In the first qualifying round, they faced Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia and lost 9–0 on aggregate, including 6–0 at home in the first leg, conceding a hat-trick by Karol Mészáros.[10]

For a third consecutive season, Europa represented Gibraltar in the Europa League. Despite losing the second leg 2–1 away in Armenia, the team defeated Pyunik 3–2 on aggregate to advance for the first time.[11]

Season Team Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2014–15 Europa 1Q Liechtenstein FC Vaduz 0–1 0–3 0–4
2015–16 1Q Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 0–6 0–3 0–9
2016–17 1Q Armenia Pyunik 2–0 1–2 3–2
2Q Sweden AIK 0–1 0–1 0–2
Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Rock of Plenty: the story of football in Gibraltar". World Soccer. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Gibraltar becomes Uefa's 54th member despite Spain's past objections". The Guardian. Press Association. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Lincoln Red Imps 1–1 HB Torshavn". BBC Sport. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Five-goal HB hold off Lincoln comeback". UEFA. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Fortuna, Julian (8 July 2015). "Historic win helps Lincoln's dream come true". UEFA. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Duggan, Joe (29 June 2016). "Joseph Chipolina nabs Champions League away goal as Lincoln Red Imps lose 2–1 at Flora Tallinn". The Gibraltar Olive Press. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Donohue, Eamon (12 July 2016). "Lincoln Red Imps FC 1–0 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  8. ↑ McLaughlin, Chris (20 July 2016). "Celtic 3–0 Lincoln Red Imps FC". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "EL: Vaduz erwartungsgemäss ein Runde weiter" [Vaduz to a further round as expected] (in German). Sport Zeit. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  10. ↑ Farrell, Dom (3 July 2016). "Europa League Review: Brondby ignite opening round with nine-goal thrashing". Goal.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "Pyunik 2–1 College Europa". ESPN. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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