The national association claims, as it did when pushing for the highly criticised Europa Point Stadium project, that UEFA is obliging nations to upgrade existing Category 3 national stadiums to Category 4. However, as was the case back then, a Cat 4 stadium is only required when a nation advances to the latter stages of a competition, which no small country has ever achieved.
What would be the point of obliging Europe’s smallest nations to construct 8,000-seater stadiums, which is the minimum capacity to achieve Cat 4 status? Categories one to four would essentially become redundant and a nation like Gibraltar would be forced into building a stadium that would hold a quarter of its population. The GFA’s argument that UEFA is obliging it to build a behemoth of a structure widely excessive of what is needed, surely to become another white elephant on the Rock, is frankly absurd.
What would be the point of obliging Europe’s smallest nations to construct 8,000-seater stadiums, which is the minimum capacity to achieve Cat 4 status? Categories one to four would essentially become redundant and a nation like Gibraltar would be forced into building a stadium that would hold a quarter of its population. The GFA’s argument that UEFA is obliging it to build a behemoth of a structure widely excessive of what is needed, surely to become another white elephant on the Rock, is frankly absurd.
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18-10-21 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR