- Sport in Gibraltar
Sport plays a prominent role in Gibraltarian life. The range of sports practiced in theBritish overseas territory ofGibraltar is wide and varied in comparison to its size of less than 7km2. TheGovernment of Gibraltar is committed to promote sport within The Rock and supports many localsports association s financially. Gibraltar also competes in international sporting events such as the biennial Island Games, which it hosted in 1995.Government's role
The
Ministry for Sport , headed by the Hon.Edwin J. Reyes , Minister for Culture, Heritage, Sport & Leisure, is responsible for sports policy matters and the provision of support to educational establishments and the governing bodies of sport in Gibraltar. [http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/gov_depts/sport/about_sport.htm About sport in Gibraltar.] ]The
Gibraltar Sports Advisory Council is set up to advise the Government of Gibraltar, through the Minister for Sport, on all matters relating to sport including:* Capital Expenditure Priorities
* Allocation of grants to Sporting Societies
* Sports Development
* International Competitions
* Availability and use of Sports Facilitiesport facilities
The Government recognises the benefits derived from the Gibraltarians' participation in sports and other recreational activities. Therefore, particular importance is given to the availability of facilities for the practice of these sports as well as making these available to anyone for booking allocations free of charge.
There is a large number of sport facilities in Gibraltar, of varying standards. These provide opportunities for locals and visitors alike to enjoy sport recreationally as well as professionally for the serious sport enthusiasts, where they can improve standards and have the opportunity to participate in local and international events.
The main sport facilities in Gibraltar are the multi-purpose Victoria Stadium and the
Tercentenary Sports Centre . These include facilities such asartificial turf football pitch es, water-based hockey fields,tennis and padel tennis courts, athletics fields,archery practice range,cricket fields,squash court s,golf practice range,climbing wall and multi-purpose sports halls forbasketball ,badminton ,volleyball ,netball ,handball ,five-a-side football , andmartial arts among many others.ports
In 2007, there were eighteen sports associations in Gibraltar officially recognised by their respective international governing bodies. Others, such as the
Gibraltar National Olympic Committee , have applied for international recognition which are currently being considered.Football
The
Gibraltar Football Association applied for full membership ofUEFA , but their bid was turned down in2007 in a contentious decision.cite news | url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article29250.ece | title=UEFA snub the Rock | publisher=The Sun| date=26 January 2007 ]Cricket
Cricket enjoys massive popularity in Gibraltar as the weather is perfectly suited to cricket games. The
Gibraltar national cricket team recently won theEuropean Cricket Championship .References
ee also
*
Culture of Gibraltar
*Sport in the United Kingdom
*Sport in Spain External links
* [http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/gov_depts/sport/sport_index.htm Government of Gibraltar website on sport.]
* [http://sportgibraltar.blogspot.com/ SportGibraltar.com]
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