Gibraltar Have Been Confirmed As 54th Member Nation of UEFA: The Daily EPL

Against the wishes of Spain, Gibraltar today have been confirmed as the 54th member nation of UEFA.

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the tip of Spain. The population of 30,000 residents have twice rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty, and remain closely tied with Great Britain.

What this means for the other UEFA countries is that there’ll be another team competing in future qualification matches for the European Championship tournament. They’ll be eligible to compete in the qualifying stages for the European Championship in 2016. Plus their club sides will also be allowed to compete in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

While it’s excellent news for Gibraltar, it’s a sign that UEFA needs to rethink their qualification process for major tournaments. There desperately needs to be a pre-qualification round where the minnows play each other to determine who will move on to the Euro 2016 qualification matches.

Here are today’s Premier League news headlines:

• Gibraltar have been confirmed as the 54th member nation of UEFA — Sky Sports
• £120m Premier League promotion prize for The Eagles or Hornets — FC Business
• Sunderland have signed teenage striker Duncan Watmore from non-league side Altrincham — Sky Sports
• Manchester United’s David Moyes considers move for Marouane Fellaini — The Guardian
• Noel Hunt, Ian Harte, Nicky Shorey, Simon Church and Jay Tabb to be released by Reading — Sky Sports
• Uefa confirm Champions League reward for winning the Europa League — The Independent
• Mark Hughes emerged today as the early front runner in the race to replace Tony Pulis — Standard
• Outgoing Manchester United chief executive David Gill elected to Uefa role — The Independent
• Vincent Tan linked with Cardiff City share offer in Malaysia — BBC Sport
• Liverpool chairman happy with ‘remarkable progress’ being made under Rodgers — Independent
• Gareth Bale must quit Spurs now, says Marcel Desailly — Evening Standard
• The 37 English professional football clubs offering zero pay for real jobs — Sporting Intelligence
• Tottenham were held to a 0-0 draw with Jamaica — Sky Sports
• Brian Kidd heaps praise on Manchester City after comeback against Chelsea in St Louis — Independent
• Romelu Lukaku says a move to Borussia Dortmund would appeal to him — Sky Sports
• The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football Is Wrong – review — The Guardian
• UEFA Congress adopts anti-racism resolution — UEFA.com
• Man United coaches Eric Steele and Mike Phelan on their way out at Old Trafford — The Mirror
• 7 Network acquire rights to Man United and Liverpool’s pre-season matches in Australia — SportsPro
• Itay Shechter thanks Swansea City as loan spell comes to an end — This Is South Wales
• Newcastle intend to fight to keep Fabricio Coloccini at the club this summer — The Independent

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