2019–20 Gibraltar National League

Gibraltar National League
The Victoria Stadium where each match is played
Season2019–20
Dates12 August 2019 – 3 May 2020
ChampionsNo champion[1]
Champions LeagueEuropa
Europa LeagueSt Joseph's
Lincoln Red Imps
Matches played104
Goals scored481 (4.63 per match)
Top goalscorerJuanfri (24 goals)
Best goalkeeperJamie Robba
Dayle Coleing (7 clean sheets)
Biggest home winLincoln Red Imps 9–1 College 1975
(19 September 2019)
Biggest away winCollege 1975 0–12 Europa
(1 November 2019)
Highest scoringCollege 1975 0–12 Europa
(1 November 2019)
Boca Gibraltar 7–5 College 1975
(20 February 2020)
Manchester 62 1–11 Mons Calpe
(12 March 2020)
All statistics correct as of 12 March 2020.

The 2019–20 Gibraltar National League season was the first edition of the Gibraltar National League in Gibraltar, and the 121st edition of football in the territory overall. The league was announced in June 2018 when the Gibraltar Football Association decided to merge the Gibraltar Premier Division and Gibraltar Second Division at the conclusion of the 2018–19 season.[2]

On 1 August 2019, it was confirmed that the league would be contested by 16 teams.[3] Eleven days later, the GFA revealed that two teams had withdrawn and the league would be contested by 14 teams.[4] That number was reduced to 13 the following day when Leo also withdrew from the league.[5]

COVID-19 pandemic would cause the season to be suspended in March 2020. The Challenge Group was abandoned, while the Gibraltar FA looked to conclude the Championship Group in some form. On 1 May 2020, the Gibraltar Football Association announced that the domestic football season had been terminated.[6] After the league had discussions of whether the title would be awarded,[7] the Gibraltar FA announced on 7 May 2020 the season was declared null and void; the title would remain vacant.[1]

Format

On 1 August 2019, the GFA confirmed details of the restructure of domestic football in Gibraltar, and the format of the a new 16 team league.[8] By 12 August, the GFA confirmed two teams would not participate and 14 teams would contest the league.[4] With Leo's withdrawal the next day, the league was reduced to 13.[5] Teams will play one round of games as a single league, before splitting into two groups: the Championship Group contested by the top 7 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.

Teams

Location of the stadium where all teams play

16 teams were initially expected to participate in the inaugural National League, with Hound Dogs dropping down to the 2019–20 Gibraltar Intermediate League, having been granted special dispensation by the GFA.

On 9 August, Gibraltar Phoenix withdrew from the league.[9] Two days before, Gibraltar United were threatened with expulsion if they failed to repay debts by 12 August.[10]

On 12 August, the GFA confirmed the withdrawal of Gibraltar Phoenix and Gibraltar United.[4] The day after, Leo withdrew from the league too, after a takeover by King's Lynn Town owner Stephen Cleeve was blocked by the GFA.[11] On 22 August, it was reported that Olympique 13 were at risk of withdrawing from the league, having forfeited their game against Europa due to a shortage of players.[12] They were expelled on 11 September.

Teams with a blue background played in the 2018–19 Gibraltar Premier Division. Teams with a red background played in the 2018–19 Gibraltar Second Division.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Club sponsor 2018–19
Boca Gibraltar Craig Cowell Julio Bado ES Coral
Kids Come First
10th
Bruno's Magpies Juan Maria Sánchez Brian Perez Joma GVC Holdings
Chestertons
1st
College 1975 Ángel Espinosa Nazim Hughes Joma 5th
Europa Rafa Escobar Liam Walker Jako La Parrilla
Betfred
2nd
Europa Point Ian Hendon Antony Moulds Admiral Isolas 2nd
Glacis United Michele Di Piedi Michele Di Piedi Nike 8th
Lincoln Red Imps Germán Crespo Roy Chipolina adidas Mansion.com 1st
Lions Gibraltar Albert Ferri Alberto Caravaca Givova 9th
Lynx Albert Parody Mohamed Badr Givova (home)
Zaror (away)
Resolve Salvage & Fire 7th
Manchester 62 David Wilson Robert Montovio Joma CEPSA GIB 4th
Mons Calpe Luis Manuel Blanco Kivan Castle Joma 4th
St Joseph's Raúl Procopio Baizán Boro Joma M Price 3rd

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Boca Gibraltar Allen Bula End of contract 20 May 2019 Pre-season Christian Ressa 24 July 2019
Europa Point José Ramón Rojas 25 May 2019 Allen Bula 20 June 2019[13]
Glacis United Jesús Napolitano 25 May 2019 Bennie Brinkman 1 July 2019
College 1975 Nolan Bosio Resigned 25 May 2019 Jesús Cano 1 June 2019
Mons Calpe Luis Manuel Blanco 28 May 2019 William 11 June 2019[14]
Leo Paco Sánchez Moved to Assistant Manager 15 June 2019 Dani Amaya 15 June 2019[15]
Manchester 62 Jonathan Sodi Resigned 19 June 2019 Jeff Wood 19 June 2019[16]
Mons Calpe William 10 July 2019 David Sanz 19 July 2019[17]
David Sanz 30 July 2019 Lorenzo Morón 1 August 2019[18]
Lynx Carlos Gobantes Signed by Mons Calpe U23 1 August 2019 Albert Parody 2 August 2019
Glacis United Bennie Brinkman Mutual consent 3 September 2019 11th Michele Di Piedi 3 September 2019
Bruno's Magpies David Wilson Sacked 3 October 2019 5th Alfonso Cortijo 18 October 2019
Mons Calpe Lorenzo Morón 11 October 2019 6th Leonardo Vela 18 October 2019
Boca Gibraltar Christian Ressa Moved to Assistant Manager 18 October 2019 11th Juan Maria Sánchez 18 October 2019
Manchester 62 Jeff Wood Mutual consent 21 October 2019 8th David Wilson 5 November 2019[19]
Europa Point Allen Bula Resigned 8 November 2019 10th Ian Hendon 26 November 2019
Boca Gibraltar Juan Maria Sánchez 8 November 2019 8th Juan Carlos Camacho 12 November 2019
Lincoln Red Imps Víctor Afonso Mutual consent 19 December 2019[20] 3rd Germán Crespo 4 January 2020
Mons Calpe Leonardo Vela 1 January 2020 7th Luis Manuel Blanco 1 January 2020
Bruno's Magpies Alfonso Cortijo Resigned 3 January 2020 5th Juan Maria Sánchez 3 January 2020
Boca Gibraltar Juan Carlos Camacho Mutual consent 9 January 2020 9th Craig Cowell 9 January 2020
College 1975 Jesús Cano Sacked 1 February 2020 12th Ángel Espinosa 1 February 2020

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Europa (C, Q) 17 16 1 0 85 9 +76 49 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[b]
2 St Joseph's (Q) 17 14 2 1 58 15 +43 44 Qualification to the Europa League preliminary round
3 Lincoln Red Imps (Q) 17 13 0 4 68 15 +53 39
4 Lynx 17 9 2 6 37 30 +7 29
5 Bruno's Magpies 17 7 0 10 29 41 −12 21
6 Lions Gibraltar 17 4 3 10 30 55 −25 15
7 Mons Calpe 18 10 3 5 49 29 +20 33
8 Europa Point 18 7 4 7 35 38 −3 25
9 Manchester 62 18 6 1 11 21 49 −28 19
10 Boca Gibraltar 17 4 4 9 30 45 −15 16
11 Glacis United 17 3 1 13 21 56 −35 10
12 College 1975 18 0 1 17 18 99 −81 1
13 Olympique 13[c] (D, R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Disqualified before the end of the season
14 Leo[d] (D, R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Did not start the season
15 Gibraltar United[e] (R, D) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 Gibraltar Phoenix[f] (R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 Hound Dogs[g] (T) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Will play in the 2019–20 Gibraltar Intermediate League since they were granted special permission by the Gibraltar FA to participate as a senior side.
Source: UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated; (T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other once (11 matches), before the league splits into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last 10 matches.
  2. ^ Europa were crowned de facto champions after the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Gibraltar.
  3. ^ On 22 August, it was reported that Olympique 13 were at risk of withdrawing from the league, having forfeited their game against Europa due to a shortage of players.[21] They were expelled on 11 September after forfeiting their next games.
  4. ^ On 13 August 2019, Leo withdrew after a takeover by King's Lynn Town owner Stephen Cleeve was blocked by the GFA.[22]
  5. ^ On 7 August 2019, Gibraltar United were threatened with expulsion if they failed to repay debts by 12 August.[23] It was revealed that the club had until the following Monday to repay all of their debts or face expulsion. On 12 August 2019, the team were expelled for not repaying their debts.
  6. ^ On 9 August, Gibraltar Phoenix withdrew from the league,[24] with club owners citing heavy losses in recent years and a lack of success in selling the club to potential investors as the main reasons to cease operations.
  7. ^ Hound Dogs dropped down to the 2019–20 Gibraltar Intermediate League, having been granted special dispensation by the GFA.

Results

Matches 1–11
Home \ Away BOC BRU COL EFC EPO GLA LIN LGI LYN MAN MON SJO
Boca Gibraltar 1–2 1–1 1–8 1–3 1–1
Bruno's Magpies 0–6 0–3 2–0 1–3 0–3
College 1975 0–4 1–3 0–12 1–6 0–3 1–9
Europa 6–1 1–0 6–2 4–1 2–0 2–2
Europa Point 2–3 6–1 0–3 0–5 1–3
Glacis United 0–2 0–9 4–0 1–3 2–3 0–5
Lincoln Red Imps 9–1 3–0 8–0 4–0 2–0
Lions Gibraltar 6–4 2–5 0–0 1–7 0–0 0–4
Lynx 2–0 4–0 3–2 5–0 5–1
Manchester 62 0–0 0–2 0–7 0–3 1–4
Mons Calpe 0–7 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–6
St Joseph's 2–0 7–0 5–0 8–1 2–1 1–1 3–0
Source: UEFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

As of 12 March 2020[25]

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Juanfri St Joseph's 24
2 Liam Walker Europa 21
3 Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps 15
4 Manu Dimas Europa 14
5 Germán Cortés Boca Gibraltar 12
Juampe Europa
Alberto Caravaca Lions Gibraltar
Boro St Joseph's
9 Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps 9
Gato Lincoln Red Imps

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date
Boro St Joseph's College 1975 7–0 (H) 19 August 2019
Leonardo Carboni Mons Calpe College 1975 9–1 (A) 24 August 2019
Gato Lincoln Red Imps College 1975 9–1 (H) 19 September 2019
Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps College 1975 9–1 (H) 19 September 2019
Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps Lions Gibraltar 7–1 (A) 29 September 2019
Juanfri4 St Joseph's Glacis United 8–1 (H) 20 October 2019
Boro4 St Joseph's Glacis United 8–1 (H) 20 October 2019
Germán Cortés Boca Gibraltar College 1975 4–0 (A) 24 October 2019
Juanfri St Joseph's Lions Gibraltar 4–0 (A) 26 October 2019
Manu Dimas Europa College 1975 12–0 (A) 1 November 2019
Liam Walker Europa College 1975 12–0 (A) 1 November 2019
Juanfri St Joseph's Mons Calpe 6–0 (A) 24 November 2019
Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps Boca Gibraltar 8–1 (A) 27 November 2019
Juampe Europa Glacis United 6–2 (H) 29 November 2019
Manu Dimas Europa Lions Gibraltar 5–0 (H) 17 January 2020
Julian Del Rio Lincoln Red Imps Lynx 5–0 (H) 18 January 2020
Dylan Hernández Lynx Bruno's Magpies 3–1 (H) 1 February 2020
James Adams Boca Gibraltar College 1975 7–5 (H) 20 February 2020
Germán Cortés Boca Gibraltar College 1975 7–5 (H) 20 February 2020
José Oncala4 College 1975 Boca Gibraltar 5–7 (A) 20 February 2020
Sunday Emmanuel Lincoln Red Imps Lions Gibraltar 7–1 (H) 21 February 2020
Andre Dos Santos Mons Calpe Manchester 62 11–1 (A) 12 March 2020
Santiago Pastorini Mons Calpe Manchester 62 11–1 (A) 12 March 2020

Clean Sheets

Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Jamie Robba St Joseph's 7
Dayle Coleing Europa
2 Christian Fraiz Mons Calpe 6
4 Javi Muñoz Europa 5
Kyle Goldwin Lincoln Red Imps
6 Bradley Banda Lynx 4
7 Francisco Pérez Lions Gibraltar 3
Matt Cafer Bruno's Magpies
Frank Warwick Manchester 62
10 Jordan Perez Boca Gibraltar 2
Conor O'Keefe[a] Bruno's Magpies
Ivan Moreno Glacis United
Manuel Soler Lincoln Red Imps
  1. ^ Includes 2 clean sheets for Europa Point.

Awards

Player of the week

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Reference
Manager Club Player Club
August Albert Parody Lynx Alberto Valdivia Lynx [44]
September Víctor Afonso Lincoln Red Imps Sergio Molina Rivero Lincoln Red Imps [45]
October Víctor Afonso Lincoln Red Imps Juanfri St Joseph's [46]
November Rafa Escobar Europa Liam Walker Europa [47]
December Albert Ferri Lions Gibraltar Alberto Caravaca Lions Gibraltar [48]
January Rafa Escobar Europa Julian Del Rio Lincoln Red Imps [49]
February Rafa Escobar Europa Dayle Coleing Europa [50]

End-of-season awards

End of season awards were handed out by Football Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Football Association's official UEFA correspondents, on 28 May and 2 June 2020.[51][52][53]

Award Winner Club Nominees
Rank Player Club
Manager of the Season Rafa Escobar Europa 2 Raúl Procopio Baizán St Joseph's
3 Albert Ferri Lions Gibraltar
4 Albert Parody Lynx
Goalkeeper of the Season Dayle Coleing Europa 2 Jamie Robba St Joseph's
3 Kyle Goldwin Lincoln Red Imps
4 Bradley Banda Lynx
Defender of the Season Olmo González Europa 2 Sergio Sánchez Europa
3 Ezequiel Rojas St Joseph's
4 Bernardo Lopes Lincoln Red Imps
Midfielder of the Season Liam Walker Europa 2 Christian Pecci St Joseph's
3 Alejandro Avilés Europa
4 Dan Bent Bruno's Magpies
Striker of the Season Juanfri St Joseph's 2 Juampe Europa
3 Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps
4 Alberto Caravaca Lions Gibraltar
Player of the Season Liam Walker Europa 2 Juanfri St Joseph's
3 Juampe Europa
Young Player of the Season Jayce Olivero Europa 2 Ethan Britto Lincoln Red Imps
3 Jaron Vinet Bruno's Magpies
Challenge Group Player of the Season Andre dos Santos Mons Calpe N/A
Challenge Group Young Player of the Season Ayoub El Hmidi Mons Calpe N/A
Fans' Player of the Season Liam Walker Europa 2 Dayle Coleing Europa
3 Kike Gómez Lincoln Red Imps
Fans' Young Player of the Season Ayoub El Hmidi Mons Calpe 2 Jayce Olivero Europa
3 Ethan Britto Lincoln Red Imps
Fans' Team of the Season
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Dayle Coleing Jack Sergeant
Bernardo Lopes
Olmo González
Jayce Olivero
Lee Casciaro
Nacho Fernández
Aymen Mouelhi
Liam Walker
Juanfri
Kike Gómez

References

  1. ^ a b "Gibraltar National League Season Declared Null and Void". gibraltarfa.com. Gibraltar Football Association. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Senior League Rules" (PDF). GFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  3. ^ Key changes to the domestic league revealed to clubs Gibraltar Chronicle. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Two Teams withdraw from Gibraltar National League". GFA. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Leo FC Withdraw from Gibraltar National League". GFA. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Domestic Football Season Terminated". Gibraltar Football Association. 1 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Top three qualify for Europe but no date set for return of football in Gibraltar". Gibraltar Chronicle. 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ Restructuring of the Domestic Men's Senior League Archived 2019-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Gibraltar FA. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  9. ^ Gibraltar Phoenix withdraw from the National League Archived 2019-08-09 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  10. ^ Pay up or league for Gibraltar United Archived 2019-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  11. ^ Leo FC withdraw from the National League Archived 2020-09-11 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  12. ^ El Olympique no se presenta y apunta a otra retirada en Gibraltar EuropaSur (in Spanish). 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ^ Bula joins Europa Point Football Gibraltar. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  14. ^ New Manager Announcement Mons Calpe on Twitter. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  15. ^ New technical team Leo FC on Facebook. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  16. ^ Jeff Wood takes over Man 62 Football Gibraltar. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  17. ^ Gibraltar, español... y también valenciano Superdeporte. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  18. ^ New Head Coach Mons Calpe SC. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  19. ^ David Wilson is new coach at Manchester 62 Gibraltar Chronicle. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  20. ^ BREAKING: Head coach and Club Part Ways Lincoln Red Imps FC. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019
  21. ^ El Olympique no se presenta y apunta a otra retirada en Gibraltar EuropaSur (in Spanish). 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  22. ^ Leo FC withdraw from the National League Archived 2020-09-11 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  23. ^ Pay up or league for Gibraltar United Archived 2019-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  24. ^ Gibraltar Phoenix withdraw from the National League Archived 2019-08-09 at the Wayback Machine Football Gibraltar. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Top Scorers".
  26. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 1 Football Gibraltar. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  27. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 2 Football Gibraltar. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  28. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 3 Football Gibraltar. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  29. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 4 Football Gibraltar. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  30. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 5 Football Gibraltar. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  31. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 6 Football Gibraltar. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  32. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 7 Football Gibraltar. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  33. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team o the Week 8 Football Gibraltar. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  34. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 9 Football Gibraltar. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  35. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 10 Football Gibraltar. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  36. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 11 Football Gibraltar. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  37. ^ Gibraltar National League: Team of the Week 12 Football Gibraltar. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  38. ^ Julian Del Rio is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  39. ^ Kike is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  40. ^ Dylan Hernández is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  41. ^ Juanlu Becerra is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  42. ^ Sunday Emmanuel is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  43. ^ Liam Walker is FG Player of the Week Football Gibraltar. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  44. ^ Lynx duo awarded Player and Manager of the Month Football Gibraltar. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  45. ^ Lincoln Pair win September Player and Manager of the Month Football Gibraltar. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  46. ^ Juanfri and Afonso win FG Monthly Awards in October Football Gibraltar. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  47. ^ Walker and Escobar win FG Monthly Awards in November Football Gibraltar. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  48. ^ Lions Pair win FG Monthly Awards in December Football Gibraltar. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  49. ^ Del Rio and Escobar grab January FG Monthly Awards Football Gibraltar. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  50. ^ Coleing and Escobar take FG Monthly Awards in February Football Gibraltar. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  51. ^ FG Awards 20: Part 1 - Positional Awards and Manager of the Season Football Gibraltar. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  52. ^ FG Awards 20: Part 2 - Young Player, Player and Team of the Season Football Gibraltar. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  53. ^ FG Awards 20: Challenge Group Player and Young Player of the Season Football Gibraltar. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.