The 2020–21 Gibraltar National League season is the second season of the new Gibraltar National League in Gibraltar, and the 122nd season of football on the territory overall. There are no reigning champions this season, as the previous season was declared abandoned as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league is due to kick off on 16 October 2020. Instead of qualifying for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, teams placed 2nd, 3rd and the 2021 Rock Cup winners will qualify for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League.
Format The structure of the league will follow that of the previous season.Restructuring of the Domestic Men's Senior League Gibraltar FA. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019. Teams will play one round of games as a single league, before splitting into two groups: the Championship Group contested by the top 6 sides, and the Challenge Group between the bottom 6 sides. The winners of the Challenge Group will receive the GFA Challenge Trophy and receive a bye to the second round of the next season's Rock Cup. The league paused after the game on 20 December between Bruno's Magpies and St Joseph's, but resumed on 22 February 2021 with Lions Gibraltar defeating College 1975 3-2.Gibraltar National League will restart on Monday 22 February 2021 Gibraltar FA. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
Teams
The following 12 teams began the 2020–21 Gibraltar National League. League positions from the previous season represent where teams stood when the season was abandoned.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Club sponsor 2019–20 10th Joma GVC HoldingsChestertons 5th Joma 12th 1st 8th 11th 3rd 6th 4th Manchester 62 Joma CEPSA GIB 9th FanPlay 365 7th 2nd
Managerial Changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointmentLincoln Red Imps Mutual consent 20 May 2020 Pre-season 28 May 2020Club Statement - New Head Coach Appointed Lincoln Red Imps FC. 28 May 2020. 28 May 2020.Bruno's Magpies 31 May 2020 23 July 2020Boca Gibraltar Moved to U23 Manager 1 June 2020 1 June 2020New Technical Team Announced Boca Gibraltar. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.Boca Gibraltar Denied license by GFA 9 August 2020 9 August 2020Glacis United Promoted to Director of Football 1 September 2020 1 September 2020Mons Calpe Mutual consent 16 September 2020 16 September 2020Europa Point 1 October 2020 1 October 2020Lincoln Red Imps 5 October 2020 5 October 2020Glacis United Signed by Nigeria Football Federation 23 October 20207th 25 October 2020Europa Point Mutual consent 2 November 2020 11th 2 November 2020 Sacked 19 March 2021 12th 19 March 2021
League table
Results
Forfeits for Home Grown Player violations The season suffered early controversy when several teams were forced to forfeit games for violations of the Home Grown Player rule, due to confusion over the new rules regarding time limits for changes if a Home Grown Player is sent off. Below are the games that have been forfeited for rule breaches.
Date Original score GFA decision Bruno's Magpies 1–0 Boca Gibraltar 3-0 win to Bruno's Magpies Glacis United 1–1 Lynx 3-0 win to Lynx Glacis United 1–1 Europa Point 3-0 win to Glacis United Europa Point 1–2 Boca Gibraltar 3-0 win to Europa Point
Additionally, Boca Gibraltar failed to field a team on 5 December 2020 against Mons Calpe, subsequently forfeiting the tie.FC Boca Gibraltar advise they will not fulfil National League fixture Gibraltar FA. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020. After doing so again on 9 December, they were expelled from the league. FC Boca Juniors Gibraltar will not fulfil their Gibraltar National League fixture scheduled for this evening. Gibraltar FA. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
Championship and Challenge groups After 11 games (reduced to 10 after Boca Gibraltar were expelled) the league splits into two groups: the top 6 into the Championship Group, and the bottom 6 (later reduced to 5) into the Challenge Group. The Championship Group will compete for the league title and European qualification places, while the Challenge Group will compete for the GFA Challenge Trophy.
Championship Group
Championship Group results
Challenge Group
Challenge Group results
Season statistics Scoring Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Kike GómezLincoln Red Imps242 JuanfriSt Joseph's223 Rubo BlancoBruno's Magpies194 Adrián GallardoEuropa145 BoroSt Joseph's136 Dylan BorgeEuropa11 Aritz HernándezLynx Diego DíazMons Calpe9 Luisma GallardoCollege 19759 Liam WalkerEuropa
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date 4 Lincoln Red Imps College 1975 8–0 (A) Lions Gibraltar Glacis United 3–0 (H) Europa Europa Point 9–0 (A) Boca Gibraltar College 1975 6–1 (H) Lynx Manchester 62 5–0 (H) 4 Mons Calpe College 1975 6–0 (A) 4 St Joseph's Manchester 62 11–0 (H) 4 St Joseph's College 1975 13–1 (H) St Joseph's College 1975 13–1 (H) 4 Europa Manchester 62 9–0 (A) 4 Mons Calpe Europa Point 4–2 (A) Bruno's Magpies Europa Point 4–0 (H) Glacis United College 1975 4–1 (H) Bruno's Magpies College 1975 8–1 (A) Mons Calpe Lions Gibraltar 4–0 (A) 4 College 1975 Europa Point 6–0 (A) 4 St Joseph's Lynx 5–0 (A) 4 Bruno's Magpies Europa Point 7–0 (H) Europa Mons Calpe 3–0 (A)
Clean Sheets RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Christian LopezEuropa112 Jamie RobbaSt Joseph's93 Kyle GoldwinLincoln Red Imps84 Christian FraizMons Calpe75 Bradley BandaLynx66 Borja ValadésLions Gibraltar57 Alan MartinBruno's Magpies4 Marcos ZappacostaGlacis United9 Jordan PerezBruno's Magpies3 Manuel SolerLincoln Red Imps Ayden ViñalesManchester 62
Awards Player of the week
WeekPlayerClubReference1 Kike GómezLincoln Red Imps2 Dylan PeacockBoca Gibraltar3 Borja ValadésLions Gibraltar4Not awarded5 Kieren ProctorBoca Gibraltar6 BoroSt Joseph's7 Dylan BorgeEuropa8 BautiLynx9 NanoSt Joseph's10 Iván RuizLions Gibraltar11 CarraLincoln Red Imps12 Mustapha YahayaLincoln Red Imps
Monthly awards
MonthPlayer of the MonthManager of the MonthReferenceManagerClubPlayerClubOctober Albert FerriLions Gibraltar Kike GómezLincoln Red ImpsNovember JuanfriSt Joseph's Rafa EscobarEuropaDecemberLeague paused 20 December–22 FebruaryJanuaryFebruaryMarch
See also 2020–21 Gibraltar Intermediate League 2020–21 Gibraltar Women's Football League
References
External links Gibraltar Football Association