behind the scenes of Gibraltar, the smallest football league in the world

All of Gibraltar’s league matches are played at Victoria Stadium, the only stadium in the country. JON NAZCA/AI/Reuters/Panoramic

You’re 10 minutes late for work. No forgetting of keys or metro problem. It’s all the fault of a plane taking off when you had to cross the airport, like every morning. Maxime Agnoly, French footballer who spent a season in Gibraltar (2018-19), experienced this atypical daily life. “I lived in Spain and I crossed the border to go to train, humorously notes the 32-year-old attacking midfielder for Le Figaro. At the time, you had to go through the airport. Sometimes you were stuck because a plane was about to take off.»

This is the lot of many footballers in Gibraltar, British territory located south of Spain, whose population (32,000 inhabitants) is equivalent to that of Lens, Trappes or Montluçon, and whose area (6.8 km²) barely exceeds that of the 19th arrondist of Paris. In the country of the future opponent of the France team (June 16), most of the players in the championship reside in Spain. “I crossed the border on foot and went…