GFA does not expect UEFA or FIFA money needed to pay for planned stadium complex

The Gibraltar Football Association does not expect UEFA or FIFA money will be needed to finance the planned redevelopment of the Victoria Stadium complex.

The GFA’s General Secretary, Ivan Robba, told GBC he believes selling or letting its commercial and residential areas should generate enough money to pay for the Savings Bank loan plus profits.

The Victoria Stadium is currently owned by a subsidiary company of the GFA called “GFA National Stadium Ltd”. The Savings Bank will take ownership of this company, and therefore the land, until such time as its loan is paid off.

UEFA normally requires stadiums to be Category 4 for internationals, but the current Victoria Stadium “just scratches the surface of a Category 2” stadium, according to Mr Robba, who said home games had required “extension after extension” from the governing body, with the considerable expense of the temporary installation of lighting and scaffolding.

Then in February this year, the UEFA first vice-president, Karl-Erik Nilsson, gave Gibraltar an ultimatum. He he met with Government minister Sir Joe Bossano and reportedly said: “Either you build something or you’ll not play in Gibraltar ever again”.

Mr Robba says the association felt “cornered” and thought not being able to play international football on the Rock would be a big shame after fighting to enter UEFA for 15 years and FIFA for six. 

He said both football’s governing bodies have always been extremely supportive, but it was never the case that they were going to fully fund a new stadium here. He said this would cost no less than £40 million, making the project not feasible before the involvement of the Government.

In response to GBC questions, the GFA General Secretary said a capacity of 8,000 is being pursued because: it should make the new stadium future-proof; there’s no difference in the size of footprint required; the increase in construction costs is not too significant, and; because Gibraltar needs to maximise the economic benefits when it plays a big team, with many thousands of travelling fans.

Mr Robba said they had been losing credibility with UEFA and FIFA - who had been asking: when are you going to do it? Now there’s a timeline and a concrete plan in place, “they are even more supportive”.

He said there is infrastructure funding from the international football bodies every four years, which could be used to maintain the new complex, or to develop other infrastructure around Gibraltar.

Asked what timeline the GFA hopes the project might proceed to, he said they would like it to start “as soon as possible”, subject to planning. The association also has to secure a place for its clubs to play European club competition this summer. He said they may just hold the games at the current Victoria Stadium. They are also in discussions about using Europa Point and/or the new Lathbury sports complex instead.

But Mr Robba warned that the longer Gibraltar plays its home games away from Gibraltar in Faro (Portugal), the longer the GFA will have to incur the significant expense of rising prices for flights and accommodation - without any benefit to the Gibraltar economy.