Glacis kick off Reserve League with 12-0 victory over St Joseph

The newly formed Gibraltar Reserve League did not start well for St Joseph, with the first day of play seeing the Blues crash to a 12-0 defeat at the hands of Glacis United.

The match, played at the Lathbury Sports Stadium, saw St Joseph line out with just ten players listed on the teamsheet, with four players on the bench, only two of whom were used, according to the results sheets.

Glacis United, fielding three Gibraltar players, five British players, an Irish player, a Canadian and an American player — the latter scoring four goals — had a field day as the new Reserve League highlighted how various clubs will be using the new competition, which has replaced the Intermediate League.

The new Reserve League will have no Gibraltar Eligible Player rules enforced, allowing teams to play any number of foreign players at any one time, although it does provide greater opportunities for Gibraltar Eligible Players, with increased benefits for those players transitioning into Gibraltar Football League teams without the restrictions imposed on Reserve Squads.

Players registered to play in a team competing in the GFA Reserve League may participate in GFL matches for the same club in accordance with the Reserve League Rules. These same rules restrict the number of matches to just five, except for Gibraltar Eligible Players, for whom the restrictions will not be enforced.

Clubs meeting the domestic league criteria are allowed to register just one Reserve Team in the league. The Reserve Squad consists of a minimum of ten and a maximum of 15 players, save for the exception pertaining to University Players.

The latter will not count towards the squad quotas, with teams only allowed a maximum of three University Players in their team. The rule is only applicable if the University Player is enrolled at a university outside Gibraltar.

Clubs will also be able to nominate a maximum of ten players registered in their GFA Football League (GFL) Squad who shall also be eligible to participate in Reserve League matches.

This provides a limitation on clubs in their use of senior team players in the Reserve League and ensures that clubs are not playing all the same players in both leagues.

There are, however, exceptions, with goalkeepers registered in a club's GFL Squad being exempt from this rule.

The GFA may also approve amendments to the nominated list of GFL Squad Players in exceptional circumstances, including situations involving long-term injury, permanent transfer, deregistration, retirement or any other circumstance deemed appropriate by the GFA.

Other restrictions imposed on the league include ensuring that any team registered to compete in the GFA Reserve League does not have more than four Third Country Players.

Players registered with their respective Under-18 or Under-16 teams may also be used.

The Reserve League, unlike the GFL, will be played across three rounds, with the biggest difference in the rules being the fact that up to seven substitutes can be used during a match rather than five.

Players registered under Reserve Squads will be allowed to play only five matches with the GFL teams, after which they will not be able to play any further matches for the GFL teams until they are transferred into the senior squad. This limits the use of Reserve League players to bolster depleted GFL squads.

Notably, the first season of the Reserve League has already seen two sides opting not to participate, with both Hound Dogs and Lions Gibraltar not playing. The latter is perhaps the most surprising, with the club having been a supporter of home-grown player development in the past, especially at grassroots level. Hound Dogs had not been expected to field a team having only last season transitioned into the GFL from the Intermediate League and still very much in a transitional period.

The league, with nine teams, is expected to be played at Lathbury and replaces the Under-23 Intermediate League, providing clubs with greater freedom in the use of players.