Victoria Stadium (Gibraltar)

Victoria Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, on the southern tip of the coast of Spain. The stadium was first opened in 1926 as a sports ground for the British military forces.

Located next to Gibraltar Airport on Winston Churchill Avenue, close to the Spanish border, the arena was named in honour of the wife of local philanthropist John Mackintosh.

The Royal Engineers rebuilt the stadium in 1971 for both local inhabitants and the military before the Government of Gibraltar financed improvements to Victoria Stadium's pitch and athletics track in 1991.

Used primarily for football, Victoria Stadium hosts all matches in the Gibraltar Football League on its artificial playing surface as well as the national team. However, competitive games of the national team were moved to Estádio Algarve in Faro as Victoria Stadium didn’t meet UEFA criteria.

In 2017, UEFA permitted Gibraltar teams to compete in their competitions at Victoria Stadium. Proposals to build a Europa Point Stadium were scrapped before it was eventually constructed to share football in the territory. In April 2017, the Gibraltar FA bought Victoria Stadium and carried out improvements to it.

My visit

Europa FC 5 Lions Gibraltar 1 (Tuesday 8th January 2019) Gibraltar Premier League (att: c80)

A week’s annual leave from work afforded me the opportunity for a break in Andalusia to take in some warmer weather, football, socialising, and culture. A fixture in the top flight of the Gibraltar league fitted in perfectly.

I’d arrived by bus earlier in the afternoon in La Línea de la Concepción, the town across the Spanish border from Málaga. Once I’d had a good walk around town and a look at the home of Real Balompédica Linense, which can be viewed here, I went for a siesta.

My extremely basic room at La Esteponera offered no chance of sleep, as restoration was being carried out in the adjoining rooms. If the walls had been any thinner, I could have watched the artisans in action.

Undeterred, I set out walking with the temperatures already dropping. Making my way through town, I headed down Av. Veinte de Abril with cheap shops and cafes flanking the pedestrianised way and leading to passport control.

It was hardly a detailed check of my document, and I was through in no time. I’d been advised that this was a far quicker, cheaper, and convenient way of visiting Gibraltar than actually going over the border by transport and by staying there.

The Rock looked absolutely staggering as I crossed the Airfield; shocked by just how many Spaniards walked across the border each shift for work. Indeed, even some English voices looked as though they took advantage of the cheaper Spanish cost of living.

Victoria Stadium, along with other sporting facilities, including a hockey stadium, was on the other side of the Airfield. I got in for a quick preview and photo opportunity, looking across to the Main Stand as a junior game was in progress.

I continued into the town, taking a look at some of the old military ramparts and walls before giving 3 Phones a call to get my overseas roaming sorted out. I’m sure there are hidden treasures in Gibraltar, but I thought a couple of hours spent there was more than enough.

Time was getting on. I had a pint of London Pride in The Venture Inn, an uninspiring local Irish pub, before grabbing some food and heading to the match, where another game was coming to an end upon my arrival.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the café under the stand, as the coffee machine was broken, before heading upstairs. Admission was free to the match, which Europa needed to win to go top of the table. The Lions were down towards the bottom of the league.

Quite a few groundhoppers from Germany appeared to be in attendance, which is just as well. I wasn’t sure of regular attendance figures. Perhaps the 8.30pm kick-off and chilly conditions had deterred a few fans?

The raised seated Main Stand offered a good view of proceedings with a roof over most of it. Squeals coming from behind were emanating from a netball game from the hall backing onto the stand. Opposite was further open seating, with no spectator accommodation behind either curve.

My immediate impression was that the standard wasn’t amazing and that the Lions would struggle. However, they were to take the lead to the shock of nearly all present when the referee gave what looked like a soft penalty decision on five minutes.

Alberto Caravaca blasted home the kick at the end, overlooked by the Rock. I’d not noticed the lack of ball boys until Europa started attacking and then ran to retrieve any errant passes that went out of play and across the athletics track.

Lions wearing a grey and orange kit, which reminded me of an old Chelsea away strip, were immediately put under pressure. Their keeper, Francisco Pérez, made a decent save and then a more regulation stop from a free kick.

The Lions' defence was becoming more desperate by the minute, before the ref played a part in the equaliser on nineteen minutes, again by giving a debatable penalty. Gibraltar record cap holder Liam Walker made no mistake from the spot.

Mustafa Yahaya tried his luck for Europa from fifty yards a few minutes later, with the ball going just wide. The Lions' charismatic coach, Albert Ferri, was doing his best to marshal his troops, but he was fighting an ever-loosing battle.

The referee made it a hat trick of iffy penalty decisions five minutes from the break. Walker made no mistake in putting Europa 2-1 ahead. Tjay De Barr went on a fine run but saw his cross fired back across the goal by Jesús Toscano.

At half time, I went for a walk to get the circulation moving and to sit on the far side to prepare for a quicker getaway at full time. With my iPhone once again functioning fully, I was able to listen to the commentary of the EFL Cup semi-final.

Meanwhile, back at Victoria Stadium, Walker nearly completed his hat trick, but for the fingertips of Pérez deflecting his free kick onto the bar. However, the lead was extended on fifty-five minutes when Ibrahim Ayew fired in from twenty-five yards.

Pérez was having a fine game, making another fine stop just past the hour mark, but the rebound fell to De Barr to square to Manuel Arana to make it 4-1. Caravaca was ploughing a lone furrow up front for Lions and doing a fine, frustrating job in a losing cause.

Europa made it 5-1 with twenty minutes still remaining as a fine one-two saw Arana initially denied with Aaron Payas following up to score. Both sides made several substitutions as the game drifted to a conclusion.

Gibraltar Lions came close to netting a consolation as Javier Cantelmi performed great skill before seeing his effort cleared off the line by Ethan Jolley in the dying embers of the encounter. The ref blew for full time shortly after, and I was on my way.

It was surreal listening to commentary of a game from Wembley as I walked across an Airfield. A Tottenham win would mean a win on the fixed odds, so I was hoping they’d hang on to their lead. It was also time to find somewhere for a beer.

There didn’t seem to be an awful lot going on in La Línea, but when Spurs hung on to complete my modest win, I was keen to stay out a bit later. Eventually, I bit the bullet and entered a small bar that was more like someone’s front room. The couple in La Chicota were friendly enough. 

My basic Spanish did the trick, and I was supplied with a bottle of strong Estrella Spezial for just €2. I was after something a little more lively, so I walked round to the Molly Bloom Irish-themed pub, where a local band playing blues and cover classics was coming back on for their second set. The Guinness was good and reasonable at €4, which was an added bonus.

I enjoyed the atmosphere as locals of all ages seemed determined to have fun. I’d suffered horrendously on my bus ride owing to overindulgence the night before and was up at 6.30am the following morning for the bus to Seville, so there was no danger of my greediness being replicated. I called it a night, grabbing a first-class kebab before heading back to the room.