UEFA set to clear way for Gibraltar team
Gibraltar could soon have its own national football team after Spanish efforts to block the move were overturned by judges.
The issue is on the agenda at a meeting of UEFA’s Executive Committee meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, today and tomorrow.
Barring last-minute hitches, European football’s governing body is expected to clear the way for a Gibraltarian national team competing alongside the world’s biggest footballing nations.
“Gibraltar deserves to have its own football team and the expected decision by UEFA officials this week is yet another step towards Gibraltar being fully recognised,” Graham Watson, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West and Gibraltar said.
“UEFA’s decision will reverberate well beyond the footballing world.”
Gibraltar Football Association’s application for UEFA membership has been on hold since 1999 because of Spanish protests that only countries recognised by the United Nations should be permitted as members.
However, last month the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, dismissed the Spanish objections, reviving hopes of ushering Gibraltar into the fold.
Provisional membership is on the cards by the end of the meeting, with full membership likely to be confirmed next January at UEFA’s 16th Congress in Düsseldorf.
If approved, Gibraltar will be eligible to enter the qualifying competition for Euro 2012.
