| Country | Gibraltar |
|---|---|
| Confed | UEFA |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Levels | 1 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Domest cup | Rock Cup |
| Confed cup | UEFA Champions League UEFA Conference League |
| Champions | Lincoln Red Imps (6th title) |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Tv | Gibraltar FA TV |
| Website | |
| Current | 2026–27 Gibraltar Football League |
| Top goalscorer | Juanfri (107 goals) |
The Gibraltar Football League is the only senior tier of association football in Gibraltar, founded in 2019 as the Gibraltar National League after a merger of the Gibraltar Premier Division, which served as the top division of football on the Rock since 1905, and the Gibraltar Second Division, which had existed since 1909. It was announced in August 2019 by the Gibraltar Football Association.[1] The league is supported by the Gibraltar Intermediate League for U23 sides.
Format
Rumours of the new league began in 2018, when the Gibraltar FA announced plans for a single tier format in its league constitution for the 2018–19 Gibraltar Premier Division.[2] On 1 August 2019, the GFA confirmed details of the restructure of domestic football in Gibraltar, and the format of the new 16 team league.[3] After 4 teams left the league, the remaining 12 teams are to follow the same league format.[4] For the first 4 editions of the competition, teams played one round of games as a single league, before splitting into two groups: the Championship Group contested by the top 6 sides, and the Challenge Group between the bottom 6 sides. The winners of the Challenge Group will receive the GFA Challenge Trophy and receive a bye to the second round of the next season's Rock Cup. Hound Dogs, who participated in the final season of the Gibraltar Second Division, were granted special dispensation to compete in the Gibraltar Intermediate League.
The first season of the Gibraltar National League had no champion, as the season was declared null and void by the Gibraltar FA as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the Gibraltar FA announced that every game of the 2021–22 Gibraltar National League season would be streamed online through a broadcasting deal with Footters.[5]
In July 2022, the league rebranded as the Gibraltar Football League, with a new identity and logo.[6] The following year saw a change of format for the league. Instead of a single round-robin before the league split, the league instead returned to a double round robin format, with each team playing each other twice. At the end of the regular season, only the top 6 progressed to the next stage, entering the GFL Championship Group to decide the champion.[7]
Teams
Of the 17 teams that formed the initial league, three founder teams withdrew before the inaugural season started: Gibraltar Phoenix, Gibraltar United, and Leo. Additionally, Olympique 13 were expelled from the league after forfeiting the first two matches of the 2019-20 season.[8] Hound Dogs, while a founding member, opted not to join the National League, instead competing in the Gibraltar Intermediate League for financial reasons until joining the league in 2025. In December 2020, Boca Gibraltar were also expelled from the league. FCB Magpies merged with youth side Calpe City in 2025, forming a new club, Calpe City Magpies, although as of May 2026 the status of this merger is unknown. Manchester 62 folded after being denied a license in May 2026. As such, the following 11 teams currently contest the competition.
| Team | Formed | Joined | Previous season | Premier Division titles | GFL titles | GFA Challenge Trophies | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College 1975 | 1975 | 2019 | 9th | 0 | 0 | 0 | Óscar León |
| Europa | 1925 | 2019 | 3rd | 7 | 0 | 0 | Michele Di Piedi |
| Europa Point | 2014 | 2019 | 8th | 0 | 0 | 0 | Claudio Racino |
| Glacis United | 1965 | 2019 | 10th | 17 | 0 | 0 | Jonny Elwood |
| Hound Dogs | 2012 | 2025[a] | 11th | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ryan McCarthy |
| Lincoln Red Imps | 1976 | 2019 | 1st | 24 | 6 | 0 | Juanma Pavón |
| Lions Gibraltar | 1966 | 2019 | 5th | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wally Downes |
| Lynx | 2007 | 2019 | 6th | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rafael Berges |
| FC Magpies | 2013 | 2019 | 7th | 0 | 0 | 1 | Youri Loen |
| Mons Calpe | 2013 | 2019 | 4th | 0 | 0 | 1 | Juan Marí Sánchez |
| St Joseph's | 1912 | 2019 | 2nd | 1 | 0 | 0 | Javi Muñoz |
| Team | Formed | Joined |
|---|---|---|
| Calpe City Magpies | 2025 | 2026[b] |
| Team | Formed | Joined | Premier Division titles | GFL titles | GFA Challenge Trophies | Final season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar Phoenix | 2011 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A[c] |
| Gibraltar United | 1943 | 2019 | 11 | 0 | 0 | N/A[c] |
| Leo | 2004 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A[c] |
| Olympique 13 | 2013 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2019–20[d] |
| Boca Gibraltar | 2012 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2020–21[d] |
| Manchester 62 | 1962 | 2019 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2025–26 |
- ^ Though a founding member of the GFL, Hound Dogs played in the Gibraltar Intermediate League from 2019 to 2025.
- ^ Club will take the place of FCB Magpies after a merger.
- ^ Club folded before start of first season.
- ^ Club was expelled during the season.
- ^ The season was abandoned and declared null and void due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with title left vacant.[9]
- ^ The GFA Challenge Trophy was discontinued after the 2022–23 season.
List of winners
Table includes top three of the Championship Group (top half of table) and Challenge Group (bottom half of table)
| Season | Championship Group | Challenge Group | Golden Boot | Golden Glove | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Runners Up | Third Place | First Place | Second Place | Third Place | Player | Goals | Player | Clean Sheets | |
| 2019–20 | Abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic[e] | Juanfri | 24 | Dayle Coleing Jamie Robba | 7 | |||||
| 2020–21 | Lincoln Red Imps | Europa | St Joseph's | Bruno's Magpies | Glacis United | Manchester 62 | Kike Gómez | 24 | Christian Lopez | 11 |
| 2021–22 | Lincoln Red Imps | Europa | St Joseph's | Manchester 62 | College 1975 | Lynx | Juanfri | 14 | Alan Martin | 8 |
| 2022–23 | Lincoln Red Imps | Europa | Bruno's Magpies | Mons Calpe | Manchester 62 | Lions Gibraltar | Juanfri | 21 | Dayle Coleing Jaylan Hankins | 7 |
| 2023–24 | Lincoln Red Imps | St Joseph's | FCB Magpies | Discontinued[f] | Juanfri | 17 | Bradley Banda | 13 | ||
| 2024–25 | Lincoln Red Imps | St Joseph's | Europa | Vittorio Vigolo | 15 | Bradley Banda | 10 | |||
| 2025–26 | Lincoln Red Imps | St Joseph's | Europa | Manu Toledano | 30 | Bradley Banda | 14 | |||
See also
References
- ^ Restructuring of the Domestic Men's Senior League Archived 1 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Gibraltar FA. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Senior League Rules". GFA. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ Key changes to the domestic league revealed to clubs Gibraltar Chronicle. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "FC Olympique expelled from all GFA competitions.". Gibraltar Football Association. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Gibraltar National League to launch with new historic partnerships Gibraltar FA. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ Introducing a new identity for the Gibraltar Football League Gibraltar FA. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Mens Domestic Football Season to Kick off on Friday 15th September with the traditional Pepe Reyes Memorial Cup Gibraltar FA. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "FC Olympique expelled from all GFA competitions". Gibraltar Football Association. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ "Gibraltar National League Season Declared Null and Void". Gibraltar Football Association. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2023.