12th August 2019, 20:45
The Gibraltar Football Association has rescinded the licenses of both Gibraltar United FC and Gibraltar Phoenix FC with immediate effect.
The news that Gibraltar Phoenix would drop out of the league system was made public over the last few days, with Football Gibraltar reporting that, after failing to find a buyer, the club's owners elected to withdraw from the league instead.
In Gibraltar United's case, club president Adrian Ballesteros told the Chronicle that they would not be able to register a team next season as they had been unable to meet the deadline set by the GFA for payments to be made to its players.
Gibraltar Phoenix was founded in 2011, while Gibraltar United was established over 75 years ago in 1943, making it one of Gibraltar's oldest football clubs.
In a statement, the GFA confirmed that the National League would consist of 14 teams this season, and that the first match of the new campaign would take place on Monday as originally scheduled.