Back in May, the Gibraltar Football Association announced that UEFA had “exceptionally agreed to the Gibraltar FA’s request to use Europa Point Stadium to host UEFA Nations League 2024 and corresponding friendly matches, UEFA Champions League Qualifiers (first, second, and third rounds), and UEFA Conference League Qualifiers (first, second, and third rounds).”
These exemptions were subject to the Gibraltar FA funding infrastructural improvements and works.
Just four months after the announcement, Europa Point hosts its first international match, with Gibraltar taking on Andorra, thereby bringing international football back to our shores once again.
After a second period of playing in Faro, the return of international football was welcomed. However, its return has come at a cost.
Over £500,000 has been required to bring Europa Point Stadium up to the required standard.
The improvements included deep cleaning of all spectator areas around the stadium, refurbishment of changing rooms, and the replacement and maintenance of electrical installations. Some of these installations were in such poor condition that observers visiting the stadium before its transfer to the Gibraltar FA noted rusted installations, loose wires, and crumbling plasterwork, which had rendered areas like the exterior bar unsafe for use.
Months of having toilets out of action will now come to an end, with the facilities cleaned up and brought back to standard. Six years of accumulated dirt on seats has been removed, along with new signage, replacement of security locks on gates—some of which had never been opened and were jammed shut—and plaster and cement work on columns across the terraces, where six years of weathering had exposed some of the steel framework.
Additionally, the association has invested in a turf that is suitable for both football and rugby, as well as installing advertising boards where there were none, fixing fences, and installing perimeter netting to prevent balls from going over into the road.
Scaffolding towers have also been added to allow camera crews to film matches, along with VAR facilities, internet facilities, and, importantly, a thorough cleaning of all flooring and walls, restoring the stadium’s color from what had been becoming a grey scene.
Six years after the stadium was first opened for use, the arrival of the Gibraltar FA—despite creating some controversy among certain sectors in sports unhappy about their presence at Europa Point—has brought much-needed investment in the maintenance and upkeep of the facilities.
Required to meet UEFA’s high international standards, which have included some innovative thinking in creating the necessary space to meet requirements, the Europa Point Stadium has taken its first steps toward becoming what it was originally envisioned to be.
Football is not the only winner here; all sports sharing the facilities now benefit from the nearly half a million pounds invested just to bring it up to standard. The Gibraltar FA will continue investing to maintain these standards as long as it remains responsible for the upkeep—a responsibility that has been long overdue. The facilities had been under temporary management since their opening, with a lack of funding for maintenance due to a dispute over their future management. The arrival of Minister Leslie Bruzon on the scene resolved what had been a six-year problem.
