Accession of Gibraltar to UEFA: How did Spain lose influence?

What is it about?

In 2013, Gibraltar was accepted as a full member of UEFA after long years of struggle. The accession period was marked by a strong Spanish veto that successfully led to the rejection of the application in 2007. But how did Spain lose its influence on UEFA decision-making later on? Referring to the lobbying literature on influence mechanisms, I argue that Spain’s main strategy of withdrawal threat was not credible anymore after 2007. It was a period when La Liga was losing its competitiveness, UEFA was increasing the amount of monetary distributions to football clubs, and Spain was suffering from an economic crisis. As a result, a threat of withdrawal became less influential than Gibraltar’s repeated litigation strategy and Gibraltar became UEFA’s 54th member.

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Why is it important?

The paper provides an insight into UEFA decision-making and applies the findings from interest group literature to a unique environment. It focuses on the post-decision-making stage and discusses how actors can lobby after a decision was already given.