Gibraltar Premier Division

Gibraltar Premier Division

Country	Gibraltar
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1905
Number of teams	10
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Gibraltar Second Division
Domestic cup(s)	Rock Cup
League cup(s)	Gibraltar Premier Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Lincoln Red Imps (21st title) (2014–15)
Most championships	Lincoln Red Imps (21 titles)
Website	Gibraltar FA
2015–16 Gibraltar Premier Division

The Gibraltar Premier Division is an amateur football league established by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) in 1905, and the top tier of football in Gibraltar. It originally contained eight member clubs, but it has grown over the years. In 1909 the league was split into two divisions between which clubs can be promoted and relegated at the end of each season. In the 2013/14 season, the Premier Division contained eight clubs with the Second Division containing 12 clubs. For sponsorship reasons it is known as the Argus Insurance Premier Division.

From the 2014/15 season, as a result of the territory's membership of UEFA, the champions will enter the first UEFA Champions League qualifying round, and the winners of Gibraltar's cup competition, the Rock Cup, will earn entry to the following season's UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds.

History

Football in Gibraltar dates from 1892, when military personnel in the territory started playing as Prince of Wales F.C.. By 1895 the number of clubs had grown to the point that the Gibraltar Football Association was formed and a tournament (the predecessor to the Premier Division), the Merchants Cup, began, with Gibraltar F.C. winning the inaugural competition. By 1907 the Premier Division had officially taken shape with Prince of Wales winning the first full season of league football in Gibraltar. The side went on to win a record 19 league titles before folding some time in the 1950s.

Since the league's formation, football has been played almost every season, along with the Gibraltar Second Division (founded 1909) and a national cup competition, the Rock Cup. After the FA's admission to UEFA, the Gibraltar Premier Cup was established in 2013 to provide more competitive games for the sides in the top tier.

Due to the restricted and amateur nature of the league in the past, the competition has been prone to spells of dominance at certain times: for example, the early 20th century dominance by Prince of Wales and the 10 league titles in 11 seasons attained by Glacis United in the 1960s and 1970s. At present Lincoln Red Imps are the dominant side in the division, having won every season since 2000-2001 with the exception of the 2001-2002 season. However, the UEFA acceptance and potential for increased professionalism in the league has opened the possibility of other sides closing the gap, with sides such as Manchester 62 and Lynx making inroads in the 2013-14 season.

League Champions

Season	Winner
1895–96	Gibraltar F.C. (1)
1896–97	Jubilee F.C. (1)
1897–98	Jubilee F.C. (2)
1898–99	Albion (1)
1899–1900	Exiles F.C. (1)
1900–01	Prince of Wales F.C. (1)
1901–02	Exiles F.C. (2)
1902–03	Prince of Wales F.C. (2)
1903–04	Prince of Wales F.C. (3)
1904–05	Athletic F.C. (1)
1905–06	Prince of Wales F.C. (4)
1906–07	No competition
1907–08	FC Britannia XI (1)
1908–09	Prince of Wales F.C. (5)
1909–10	South United (1)
1910–11	South United (2)
1911–12	FC Britannia XI (2)
1912–13	FC Britannia XI (3)
1913–14	Prince of Wales F.C. (6)
1914–15	Royal Sovereign F.C. (1)
1915–16	No competition
1916–17	Prince of Wales F.C. (7)
1917–18	FC Britannia XI (4)
1918–19	Prince of Wales F.C. (8)
1919–20	FC Britannia XI (5)
1920–21	Prince of Wales F.C. (9)
1921–22	Prince of Wales F.C. (10)
1922–23	Prince of Wales F.C. (11)
1923–24	Gibraltar F.C. (2)
1924–25	Prince of Wales F.C. (12)
1925–26	Prince of Wales F.C. (13)
1926–27	Prince of Wales F.C. (14)
1927–28	Prince of Wales F.C. (15)
1928–29	Europa F.C. (1)
1929–30	Europa F.C. (2)
1930–31	Prince of Wales F.C. (16)
1931–32	Europa F.C. (3)
1932–33	Europa F.C. (4)
1933–34	Commander of the Yard F.C. (1)

Season	Winner
1934–35	Chief Construction F.C. (1)
1935–36	Chief Constructor F.C. (1)
1936–37	FC Britannia XI (6)
1937–38	Europa F.C. (5)
1938–39	Prince of Wales F.C. (17)
1939–40	Prince of Wales F.C. (18)
1940–41	FC Britannia XI (7)
1941–46	No competition
1946–47	Gibraltar United F.C. (1)
1947–48	Gibraltar United F.C. (2)
1948–49	Gibraltar United F.C. (3)
1949–50	Gibraltar United F.C. (4)
1950–51	Gibraltar United F.C. (5)
1951–52	Europa F.C. (6)
1952–53	Prince of Wales F.C. (19)
1953–54	Gibraltar United F.C. (6)
1954–55	FC Britannia XI (8)
1955–56	FC Britannia XI (9)
1956–57	FC Britannia XI (10)
1957–58	FC Britannia XI (11)
1958–59	FC Britannia XI (12)
1959–60	Gibraltar United F.C. (7)
1960–61	FC Britannia XI (13)
1961–62	Gibraltar United F.C. (8)
1962–63	FC Britannia XI (14)
1963–64	Gibraltar United F.C. (9)
1964–65	Gibraltar United F.C. (10)
1965–66	Glacis United F.C. (1)
1966–67	Glacis United F.C. (2)
1967–68	Glacis United F.C. (3)
1968–69	Glacis United F.C. (4)
1969–70	Glacis United F.C. (5)
1970–71	Glacis United F.C. (6)
1971–72	Glacis United F.C. (7)
1972–73	Glacis United F.C. (8)
1973–74	Glacis United F.C. (9)
1974–75	Manchester 62 F.C. (1)
1975–76	Glacis United F.C. (10)
1976–77	Manchester 62 F.C. (2)

Season	Winner
1977–78	No competition
1978–79	Manchester 62 F.C. (3)
1979–80	Manchester 62 F.C. (4)
1980–81	Glacis United F.C. (11)
1981–82	Glacis United F.C. (12)
1982–83	Glacis United F.C. (13)
1983–84	Manchester 62 F.C. (5)
1984–85	Glacis United F.C. (14) / Lincoln (1)
1985–86	Lincoln Red Imps FC (2)
1986–87	St Theresa's F.C. (1)
1987–88	St Theresa's F.C. (2)
1988–89	Glacis United F.C. (15)
1989–90	Lincoln Red Imps FC (3)
1990–91	Lincoln Red Imps FC (4)
1991–92	Lincoln Red Imps FC (5)
1992–93	Lincoln Red Imps FC (6)
1993–94	Lincoln Red Imps FC (7)
1994–95	Manchester 62 F.C. (6)
1995–96	St Joseph's F.C. (1)
1996–97	Glacis United F.C. (16)
1997–98	St Theresa's F.C. (3)
1998–99	Manchester 62 F.C. (7)
1999–2000	Glacis United F.C. (17)
2000–01	Lincoln Red Imps FC (8)
2001–02	Gibraltar United F.C. (11)
2002–03	Lincoln Red Imps FC (9)
2003–04	Lincoln Red Imps FC (10)
2004–05	Lincoln Red Imps FC (11)
2005–06	Lincoln Red Imps FC (12)
2006–07	Lincoln Red Imps FC (13)
2007–08	Lincoln Red Imps FC (14)
2008–09	Lincoln Red Imps FC (15)
2009–10	Lincoln Red Imps FC (16)
2010–11	Lincoln Red Imps FC (17)
2011–12	Lincoln Red Imps FC (18)
2012–13	Lincoln Red Imps FC (19)
2013–14	Lincoln Red Imps FC (20)
2014–15	Lincoln Red Imps FC (21)

• Glacis United and Lincoln shared the 1985 title

Premier Division 2015-16 season

Club	Last season
Angels FC	Gibraltar Second Division, 2nd (promoted)
FC Britannia XI	7th
Europa FC	2nd
Gibraltar United	Gibraltar Second Division, 1st (promoted)
Glacis United	6th
Lincoln	1st (champions)
Lions Gibraltar	8th
Lynx FC	3rd
Manchester 62	5th
St Joseph's FC	4th

Source:

Performance by club

Bold indicates club still playing in top division.
Italics indicates club no longer active.

Team	Titles	Last Title
Lincoln Red Imps	21	2014–15
Prince of Wales	19	1952–53
Glacis United	17	1999–2000
FC Britannia XI	14	1962–63
Gibraltar United	11	2001–02
Manchester 62	7	1998–99
Europa FC	6	1951–52
St Theresa's	3	1997–98
South United	2	1910–11
Exiles	2	1901–02
Jubilee	2	1897–98
Gibraltar FC	2	1923–24
St Joseph's	1	1995–96
Chief Constructor	1	1935–36
Chief Construction	1	1934–35
Commander of the Yard	1	1933–34
Royal Sovereign	1	1914–15
Athletic FC	1	1904–05
Albion	1	1898–99

External links

• Gibraltar FA Website
• Gibraltar - List of Champions, RSSSF.com