Europa FC saw considerable success during the first stage of its existence in the late 1920s and early 1930s, where it won four of its six league titles. However, against the likes of Prince of Wales, the club struggled to become a major force and won its sixth and final title in the 1951-52. After further declining fortunes, the Europa FC merged with College in 1970, although it failed to see a revival in fortunes as it would continue to move between the top two divisions of Gibraltar football for the next 40 years, last being out of the top flight in 2012-13.
Despite a fourth place finish in the Gibraltar Premier Division,2013–14 in 2014 they were the first team from Gibraltar to play in the UEFA Europa League qualifying as runners-up in the Rock Cup. They lost the first match of that campaign 0–3 against FC Vaduz in Liechtenstein, losing the second leg 1–0 at home, resulting in a 4–0 aggregate defeat.[1] In 2015 the club had Gibraltar’s first player to appear at a major international tournament, with ‘Charly’ representing Equatorial Guinea at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
In 2015, the club returned to its original name Europa FC which saw it get back all its former honours.[2] The side entered the UEFA Europa League once again, and lost 9–0 on aggregate to SK Slovan Bratislava – one of the all-time European greats. After another league season in second place, Europa went on to win its first continental cup tie, progressing to the second round 3–2 on aggregate against FC Pyunik in the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League.
Further investment in the side under Juan Jose Gallardo saw an influx of young Gibraltarians join the Greens to align them with the league’s new Home Grown Player Rule, including eventual international Sykes Garro and, most notably, key player Liam Walker from title rivals Lincoln Red Imps. The investment in the side drew dividends as the title race between Lincoln and Europa went down to the final round of games. Victory against Glacis United on 21 May, thanks to goals from Liam Walker and Kike Gómez, saw the club win their first title since 1952. A week later, the Greens won the 2017 Rock Cup, completing a domestic treble of Pepe Reyes Cup, Gibraltar Premier Division and Rock Cup for the first time in their history. However, after their extra-time defeat to The New Saints in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League in July 2017, Gallardo stepped down from his managerial position to focus on his role as sporting director and Jonathan Parrado was brought in to take over management of the team.
