‘Gibraltar football is not a single project or announcement. It is collective agreement ...’ says Roy Chipolina

Continuing from our previous special feature on Gibraltar football, as we gather further insight into the local game, this week we feature the thoughts and opinions of one of Gibraltar’s iconic figures — although he would never describe himself as such.
In our previous feature, we spoke to Gibraltar FA General Secretary Ivan Robba, who provided a perspective on how the game is developing, with a particular focus on its governance.
Following on from that, Roy Chipolina — former captain of the Gibraltar national team, former captain of Lincoln Red Imps, and a player who has witnessed the highs and lows of Gibraltar football at both international and European competitive level — now shares his perspective with this newspaper. Having also come through the ranks during Gibraltar’s pre-UEFA days, Chipolina offers valuable insight into how the local game has evolved, with a decade already having passed since UEFA and FIFA membership was secured.

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Roy Chipolina quite simply is one of Gibraltar’s legendary and iconic footballers. A name that needs no introduction on the local sporting scene, and one that has made a huge impression on the international stage in the first ten years of Gibraltar’s Men’s National Team being able to play competitive and recognised international football. A player who successfully made the transition not only from a forward to a commanding centre back, but one who flourished after the transition from amateur ‘professional’ football on the Rock. In the last ten years of his playing career he has taken on the likes of (amongst others) Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne, Killian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Thomas Muller, Robbie Keane, and in European Club Competitions been right at the heart of some of Gibraltar’s Club’s greatest triumphs in the Red and Black of Lincoln Red Imps FC such as their historic win over Celtic and their inaugural UEFA Conference League Campaign. It has been over a year since he hung up his boots, and a year that has seen him transition from being a leader on the pitch into taking up a key leadership role off it, as he has become the Gibraltar Football Associations Head of Football….

One year on from taking on your role at the Gibraltar Football Association Roy, how has it been so far?
Honestly, I have never been someone who focuses too much on job titles, and perhaps I am still not overly comfortable with mine. It is a massive opportunity for me and at the same time a huge challenge, but as I would like to think that I was able to show as a player, I relish these opportunities. As everyone would expect I do take very seriously, the responsibility that comes with it.
Stepping into a senior leadership role within the Gibraltar Football Association felt less like starting a new job and more like continuing a lifelong commitment to the game here at home. Having lived Gibraltar football as a player, captain, teammate and colleague, the transition into a strategic position has actually brought something very different. I have joined a team that has the ultimate responsibility of shaping environments rather than simply perform inside them. It is a very big challenge, and after twelve months the biggest lesson I have learned is actually quite a simple one:
Progress in Gibraltar will never come from copying others because we are unique in every sense of the word.

What can people expect from you in your role as Head of Football?
First of all, Honesty. I genuinely feel this is the least that I owe Gibraltar football. It has given me so much, given me a platform to play and enjoy football on a level that I had never even dreamed of, not only growing up, but into my early and mid-twenties too. As a player I was always honest with myself, meticulous in my preparation for every single game, from my fitness, to my diet to all the other work I put in off the pitch, and these are values that enables me to have a long career. Values I hope I can pass on to up and coming generations now I have made the transition into the Gibraltar FA.

You have been there and done it all. Played against players of every level in your career, from the Island Games to taking on World Cup Winners in front of fifty thousand people. How do you think, as a Footballing Nation, Gibraltar can progress?
It must come from understanding ourselves first. From seeing the game clearly and honestly, not what we wish it could be and not what we hope it might become one day, but what it truly is today.
Gibraltar football exists in a unique space. We are all proud, passionate and deeply connected to the game in one way or another. But we are also small, limited in numbers, limited in space and constantly balancing participation with performance. That reality is not a weakness. In my opinion, it is the starting point for honest planning.
Over the past year, one thing has become increasingly clear, clarity of purpose is the most important thing we can create. Not more noise and not short-term fixes where one hole is covered while another appears, but a shared understanding of what grassroots football is for, what elite development truly requires, the important role each club plays, the responsibility of the Association and what success genuinely looks like for Gibraltar. Without this clarity and shared understanding, real progression will always be difficult.

You mention Grassroots football, how can players progress in our system? Especially young players given out limitations as a country?
One of the most important reflections from this first year is the need to be honest about pathways. They must be separated, but they must also remain clearly connected. Football in Gibraltar must remain for everyone. Participation, enjoyment, community and a lifelong connection to the game are and always will be non-negotiable values. At the same time, elite development needs its own environment, one with the right standards, exposure, competition and accountability. These two truths are not in conflict. They simply require clear structure.
I truly believe the future of Gibraltar football depends on getting this balance right. We must protect the base, strengthen the pathway and create real opportunities to challenge ourselves so that our standards continue to rise.

And as we have mentioned, you have been through the Gibraltar system, in the days pre UEFA purely amateur days and now into the modern era. What do you think is needed to ensure youngsters aspiring to that elite level are able develop nowadays?
I firmly believe that competition and the challenge of consistently pushing beyond your comfort zone, is fundamental to the growth of any player. Without it, you simply cannot reach your full potential. Here in Gibraltar, our player pool is small. Yet it is incredible how many naturally gifted young players we produce.
Talent, however, is only the starting point. What determines how far that talent goes is the environment around it.
Creating the most competitive environment possible is essential. Its absence is detrimental to a player’s growth. Coaching and training are crucial, but competition is what accelerates development.
You can learn to pass, dribble, or shoot in training. The real test is doing it under pressure, when time and space disappear, when opponents press relentlessly, when a mistake costs your team possession or even a goal. That pressure is where development truly lives.
For some players, this may mean that if they outgrow local youth football, they may need to move abroad if they want to, and if they have the right support network to do so. I am not suggesting that every child in Gibraltar must cross the border. Nor does playing your entire career here mean you will never represent Gibraltar. But for those who genuinely want to pursue performance at the highest level possible, giving themselves exposure to stronger competition is vital.
If your development feels comfortable, if you are no longer being stretched, tested, or challenged, then perhaps you have outgrown the environment you are in. And if an opportunity presents itself, and you truly want to improve, to compete, and to see how far you can go, then you should have the courage to take it. Growth does not live in comfort. It lives in challenge.
Many say, “Pa qué, pa termina jugando aquí.” And in truth, most of our players will ultimately play their football in Gibraltar. But that does not make the journey of striving, competing, and testing yourself against higher standards meaningless. Quite the opposite, it makes you better. It raises your level. And when those players return to our domestic league, they elevate it.
The Gibraltar Football League today is very different from the one that existed before UEFA membership. Our local players now compete alongside and against footballers who have come through demanding, high performance environments, many from professional academies, many who reached the final hurdle before turning professional. The reality of elite football is harsh, most do not make it. But the education, discipline, and competitive habits gained along the way remain. That is now the standard within our league.
This is not about criticising our system. It is about being honest about our limitations, realistic about our opportunities, and ambitious about our future.
Gibraltar has talent, we always have. I see it every day. But talent alone is never enough. What we must instil in our young players is the mindset to keep improving when things become difficult, to embrace discomfort rather than avoid it. Because ultimately, in football as in life, growth requires passion, dedication, and the courage to step forward beyond your comfort zone in pursuit of your full potential.

And what role do Gibraltar’s Football Clubs play in all of this?
Clubs have a vital role to play in this journey. Without strong clubs that are continuously striving to develop, Gibraltar football will always struggle to move forward. Facilities, governance, financial sustainability, youth development and coaching standards are not separate conversations, they are the same conversation. If our clubs grow stronger, Gibraltar football grows stronger. If our clubs struggle, the entire system feels it. Real progress in the years ahead will depend on supporting clubs rather than only regulating them, creating competitive environments that genuinely develop players and ensuring that youth football connects meaningfully to senior football.

So, what does the immediate future look like now that you have settled in?
One year is long enough to understand the challenges we face, but it is not long enough to solve them. Real change will take time and, more importantly, the collective will of the entire football community pulling in the same direction. There is no secret formula, only alignment, direction, patience and consistency. There will always be pressure for immediate change, but meaningful progress is built over time. The responsibility now is to remain calm, remain honest and remain focused on sustainable decisions rather than popular ones, on long-term player development rather than short-term results and on unity of direction rather than individual agendas. Because the next real step for Gibraltar football is not a single project or announcement. It is collective agreement in genuinely wanting to develop the game.
And, despite the challenges, the strongest feeling after this first year is belief. Belief that within Gibraltar football there are people across every department who truly care and who want what is best for our game. The task ahead is not to chase others or compare ourselves to different realities. Their path is theirs. Ours is to become the best version of ourselves. If we can create clear pathways for players, sustainable futures for clubs, meaningful opportunities for every child and a shared identity across the game, then progress will come steadily, honestly and together.
And ultimately, that is what my role is about. Not control. Not status. But service to the future of Gibraltar football.