Europa FC is a professional football club from Gibraltar that competes in the Gibraltar National League. As other clubs in the territory, Europa FC currently shares the Victoria Stadium on Winston Churchill Avenue. The club also operates a women's team which competes in the Gibraltar Women's Football League.
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| Full name | Europa Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Green Machine | ||
| Founded | 1925 | ||
| Ground | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Head coach | Michele Di Piedi | ||
| League | Gibraltar Football League | ||
| 2023–24 | GFL, 8th | ||
| Website | http://www.europafc.gi | ||
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History
editThe club was founded in 1925. It was continuously active up to 1970. The club merged with College in the 1980s, going by College Cosmos until 2013, and in 2015 split again from College, changing from College Europa back to Europa FC, while College 1975 entered the Gibraltar Second Division. The name change was cleared by UEFA and the Gibraltar Football Association has granted back the honours the club lost when it folded initially.
The club saw considerable success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, where it won 4 of its 7 titles. However, against the likes of Prince of Wales, the club struggled to become a major force and won its 6th and final title in the 1951–52. After further declining fortunes, the club merged with College in 1970, although it failed to see a revival in fortunes as it would continue to move between the top two divisions of Gibraltar football for the next 40 years, last being out of the top flight in 2012–13.
Despite a 4th-place finish in the 2013–14 Gibraltar Premier Division, 2014 they were the first team from Gibraltar to play the UEFA Europa League after they finished runners-up in the Rock Cup. They lost the first match 0–3 against FC Vaduz from Liechtenstein. In the second leg they lost 1–0 at home, resulting in a 4–0 aggregate defeat.[1] In 2015 the club had Gibraltar's first player to appear at a major international tournament, with Charly representing Equatorial Guinea at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
In 2015 the club was renamed to their original name Europa FC.[2] The side entered the UEFA Europa League once again, without a manager as Dimas Carrasco had not yet been appointed. The side lost 9–0 on aggregate to SK Slovan Bratislava with a new look side that received criticism from fans due to the lack of Gibraltarian players and large number of Spanish signings. Another season in 2nd place followed, although July 2016 did see Europa win their first continental cup tie, winning 3–2 on aggregate against FC Pyunik in the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League.
Further investment in the side under Juan Jose Gallardo saw an influx of young Gibraltarians join the Greens to align them with the league's new Home Grown Player Rule, including eventual international Sykes Garro and, most notably, key player Liam Walker from title rivals Lincoln Red Imps. The investment in the side drew dividends as the title race between Lincoln and Europa went down to the final round of games. Victory against Glacis United on 21 May, thanks to goals from Liam Walker and Kike Gómez, saw the club win their first title since 1952. A week later, the Greens won the 2017 Rock Cup, completing a domestic treble of Pepe Reyes Cup, Gibraltar Premier Division and Rock Cup for the first time in their history. However, after their extra-time defeat to The New Saints in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League in July 2017, Gallardo stepped down from his managerial position to focus on his role as sporting director. Jonathan Parrado was brought in to take over management of the team.
Notable managers
editThe following manager(s) made at least one major accomplishment while in charge of Europa:
| Name | Period | Achievements |
|---|---|---|
 José Requena
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2014 | Europa League qualification |
 Bruno Akrapović
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2014–15 | Gibraltar Premier Cup, Europa League qualification |
| Dimas Carrasco
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2015–16 | Europa League qualification |
| Juan José Gallardo
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2016–2017 2018 |
2016–17 Domestic Treble, Europa League 2Q round, 2018 Rock Cup |
Honours
edit
- Gibraltar Premier Division/Gibraltar Football League
- Winners (7): 1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1937–38, 1951–52, 2016–17
- Gibraltar Second Division
- Winners: 2012–13
- Rock Cup
- Gibraltar Premier Cup
- Winners: 2014–15
- Pepe Reyes Cup
- Winners (4): 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021
European record
edit| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Vaduz
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0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Slovan Bratislava
|
0–6 | 0–3 | 0–9 |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Pyunik
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2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| 2Q |  AIK
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0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | ||
| 2017–18 | UEFA Champions League | 1Q |  The New Saints
|
1–3 | 2–1 | 3–4 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | PR |  Prishtina
|
1–1 | 0–5 | 1–6 |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | PR |  Sant Julià
|
4−0 | 2−3 | 6–3 |
| 1Q |  Legia Warsaw
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0–0 | 0−3 | 0–3 | ||
| 2020–21 | UEFA Champions League | 1Q |  Red Star Belgrade
|
— | 0–5 | — |
| UEFA Europa League | 2Q | Djurgårdens IF
|
— | 1–2 | — | |
| 2021–22 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1Q |  Kauno Žalgiris
|
0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1Q |  Víkingur
|
1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1Q | Dukagjini
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2–3 | 1–2 | 3–5 |
- Notes
- 1Q: First qualifying round
- 2Q: Second qualifying round
- PR: Preliminary round
Current squad
editFirst team
edit- As of 31 August 2024[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Club Management | |
| Manager |  Michele Di Piedi
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| Assistant coach |  Javier Sánchez Alfaro
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| Fitness coach | Dani Fernández
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| Goalkeeper Coach | Benjamin Parody
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| Board | |
| Chairman | Patrick Cabezutto
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| Vice President | Peter Cabezutto
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| Director |  Guy Langton
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References
edit- ^ uefa.com. "UEFA Europa League 2014/15 - History - Vaduz-Europa FC – UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ^ "Europa FC – Timeline – Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ Europa - Squad UEFA.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
