Europa Point F.C. is a football team from Gibraltar. The club currently plays in the

Gibraltar National League 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 ...

the top senior tier of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

in Gibraltar. They also participate in the

Rock Cup The Rock Cup is Gibraltar's premier cup football competition, and is organised annually by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA). From 1894/95 Gibraltar's Cup Competition was known as "The Senior Merchant's Cup". In 1935 a new trophy was prese ...

, the territory's primary cup competition.

History

The club formed in 2014 amidst the growing interest in

on the territory of Gibraltar. The club held trials specifically aimed at bringing in youth team players that had been released by professional sides in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

with the goal of getting them back into competitive football, with club founder John Gontier having formerly worked with such players while working for League Football Education. Before their maiden season, the club also announced a partnership with

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituenc ...

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, where the English side has first option on any Europa Point player. After a strong start to the season, including a tight promotion challenge against Gibraltar United, the club narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing third in the league despite having the strongest goalscoring record in the

Gibraltar Second Division The Gibraltar Second Division was the second tier of football in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, run by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA). The league was founded in 1909 after the expansion of the Gibraltar Premier Divisi ...

. Despite missing out on promotion on the final day of the season, the club did end the season with silverware as they beat promoted side

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

5–3 in a thrilling

Gibraltar Division 2 Cup The Gibraltar Division 2 Cup is a special football tournament exclusively organized for clubs participating in the Second Division. On 2 March 2017 the Gibraltar Football Association announced the signing of a sponsorship agreement with Cheste ...

final that went to extra time. After missing out on promotion in 2014–15, Europa Point were crowned champions of the 2015–16 Gibraltar Second Division after an unbeaten league campaign (W17 D5) and completed the double by retaining the Gibraltar Second Division Cup by beating Bruno's Magpies 3–2 A.E.T in the final. In preparation for the new season in the Premier Division they have signed many players including ex-

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

players George Jermy and Tom Walters. However, the players failed to impress and despite substantial changes in playing and coaching staff throughout the season, Europa Point finished bottom of the Premier Division and were relegated. On 1 November 2017, it was announced that an American consortium headed by Peter Grieve and Corey Woolfolk had purchased a controlling stake in Europa Point. Woolfolk took over as chairman of the club, while John Gontier moved to CEO. On 10 November, Joaquin Rodriguez was announced as the new Head of Commercial and Football Operations. As part of the takeover, Europa Point became a partner club to

Bantu Rovers Bantu Tshintsha Guluva Rovers Football Club is a Zimbabwean football club based in Bulawayo since their recent purchase by a group of businessmen from that city. Prior to that the club was named Eastern Lions Football Club and based in Mutare, ...

in Zimbabwe. Gontier negotiated to re-take control of the club in early 2019, helping the club to a second-place finish in the league. In the inaugural season newly formed

, Europa Point started poorly under former

Gibraltar national football team The Gibraltar national football team represents Gibraltar in international football competitions, and is controlled by the Gibraltar Football Association. Gibraltar applied for full UEFA membership and was accepted by the UEFA Congress in May ...

manager

Allen Bula Allen Bula (born 4 January 1965) is a Gibraltarian football manager and former player. He notably managed the Gibraltar national football team. Playing career As a player, he played for Gibraltar United, St Joseph's and Glacis United. Coac ...

. However, the appointment of ex-

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boss

Ian Hendon Ian Michael Hendon (born 5 December 1971) is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. Playing career Hendon was born in Ilford, Greater London. Primarily a right-back but sometimes deployed in the centre or in ...

in late November 2019 saw a significant upturn in results, only for the season to be voided by the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In July 2020, Andrew Pritchard purchased a majority stake in the club, while John Gontier stayed on as minority shareholder. Following the end of the 2020–21 season, Gontier sold his remaining stake in the club to focus on

Gibraltar Women's Football League The Gibraltar Women's Football League is the top level amateur women's football championship of Gibraltar. Due to the lack of resources available for women's football, the league has been contested by five teams since 2021, and the league is treat ...

side Gibraltar Wave. In November 2021, former

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

player and Kemi City chairman Mark Tivey was announced as the club's new co-owner and technical director. However, this ownership was short lived and in July 2022, a Swedish consortium led by Pär Magnus Roos took over the club. In July 2023, Swedish coach Dalibor Savić was appointed head coach, with player Ryan McCarthy becoming player-assistant manager. In his first season in charge, aided by a number of high-profile Scandinavian signings such as Johan Andersson, Johannes Ström and former

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

international

Thomas Drage Thomas Drage (born 20 February 1992 in Mosjøen) is a Norwegian football player who plays for Fredrikstad FK. Drage's breakout season came in 2011. He led his team in assists, contributing 11 of them, placing him as runner-up behind Strømsgods ...

, Europa Point secured a top 6 finish in the

Gibraltar Football League 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 R ...

for the first time in their history.

Seasons

Current squad

First team

''Correct as of 31 July 2023.''

Club staff

Honours

* Gibraltar National League – Challenge Group **Runners-up (1): 2019–20 *

**Winners (1): 2015–16 **Runners-up (1): 2018–19 * Gibraltar Second Division Cup **Winners (1): 2014–15,Europa Point FC see off Angels FC after Extra Time
Gibraltar FA. 20 April 2015 . 2015–16

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Association football clubs established in 2014 Football clubs in Gibraltar Gibraltar National League clubs 2014 establishments in Gibraltar