Gibraltar Women’s Football Gets Major Boost with Entry into Nations League

After a long wait, Gibraltar’s women’s international football team will finally play its first official competitive international matches in 2025. This follows the Gibraltar FA’s decision to submit a team for the upcoming Nations League, a submission that has now been confirmed and approved by UEFA.

The announcement was made ahead of this Wednesday’s friendly international against Andorra, where a young Gibraltar women’s team will face the visitors at Europa Point Stadium at 1 p.m.

Women’s Development Officer, Arianne Risso, shared the news via social media, announcing that Gibraltar’s women’s team had been officially entered into the Nations League draw, which will take place at the beginning of November. The competition itself will be played across the first half of 2025.

Speaking on social media, Ms. Risso praised the current women’s squad, stating that they had “developed massively,” and credited the Gibraltar FA for ensuring that the team has “all the support they need to get them ready for this.”

The national team, currently led by former Gibraltar international Scott Wiseman, who recently returned from duties with Gibraltar’s youth teams, has been preparing this week for today’s friendly match against Andorra.

This double-header international friendly will serve as preparation for the Nations League and provide the young Gibraltar team with a chance to measure the level of opposition they will face in the competition.

The 2025–26 UEFA Women’s Nations League will be the second edition of the competition. The league phase will take place between February and June, with the finals scheduled for October to December. The results will also determine the leagues for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifying campaign.

The current format divides teams into three leagues (A, B, and C), though this could change depending on the number of associations participating. Similar in structure to the men’s Nations League, Gibraltar’s entry will pit them against teams of a comparable level. This will mark Gibraltar women’s debut in official international competitive football.

Gibraltar is expected to be drawn into League C, which currently includes the following nations: Slovakia, Azerbaijan, Malta, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Georgia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Armenia, North Macedonia, Estonia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Cyprus, and Andorra.

The draw will take place on 7 November 2024, when Gibraltar will learn which teams they will face next February.