The dream to top all dreams. How often have mates sat around in the pub dreaming of becoming professional footballers? Many players have represented pubs in local football leagues, many players have used pub football to play for a local league team, and some have even gone as far as reaching the lower levels of the football pyramid. What would happen if that local pub team performed to a level so high that they qualify for UEFA competition? This is the story of Bruno’s Magpies, the best pub team in the world.

Now, playing football with your mates from the pub is not a rare occurrence; up and down most countries, there are countless football teams representing their favourite local drinking establishment. Red Lions FC, The Swans, The Shipmen, all common namesakes in pub football. What about Bruno’s Magpies?

The Magpies were formed in 2013 at Bruno’s Bar & Restaurant in Gibraltar. A team that, since the 2022/23 season, has participated in UEFA Conference League qualifying fixtures. How did this happen? Who created this club? Who plays for them, and how are they now at a European level?

Looking back at that ground-breaking year in 2013. A big part of this club is Louis Perry. At the time, an 18-year-old British man with a passion for football. Perry wanted to begin his footballing career, unfortunately falling early on when being turned down by local football club Cannons. Not one to simply give up on his dreams, Perry decided that if he couldn’t play for a local team, he would create one.

Creating a club isn’t as easy as finding some players and entering a league, though. Perry sought investment for his dream, and thankfully, his grandmother was that person. She owns Bruno’s Bar and was instrumental in this project. Providing the funds to get the wheels in motion.

Footballer’s however, aren’t just found roaming the streets. Usually found down at local leagues or in youth systems. In Perry’s quest, though, footballers were found on the street. He would simply ask people he saw and thought looked ‘fit’ if they played football and if they wanted to try out for his new team. Training sessions were initially held on the beach. Success was judged based on attitude and how they performed in these beach sessions, which determined whether or not they would be signed.

Now, with a group of players eager to make a statement in Gibraltarian football, Perry headed into the offices of the Gibraltar Football Association. Pleading his case to enter a new football club in the Gibraltar football league, Perry left the building successfully. Bruno’s Magpies would be installed as the newest name in Gibraltar football.

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In a previous interview, Perry looked back at the humble beginning of Bruno’s Magpies, laughing as he said, “I look back now and laugh that the signing-on fee for the players was a few pints in Bruno’s.”

Things from here took a meteoric trajectory, which Perry had no part in. The Gibraltar FA secured UEFA status. This was huge for all clubs involved, one of which was now a pub team. This UEFA status now grants access to European competitions. What was simply a pub team full of mates that wanted to play together became so much bigger, and a story that could now take them to all of Europe.

How, though, could this pub team become European contenders? As hopeful as all pub goers are to play top-flight and international football, that dream is one in a million. Perry had to get clever. Behind the scenes, the club started scouting the lower leagues of football in the UK. This was a genius idea. Gibraltar, being an overseas territory of the UK, did not require a Visa for UK residents. This allowed the Magpies to offer contracts to UK players who have been released from their clubs an opportunity to stay in football and offer them a place where they could potentially play European football.

There is only so far a dream can take you. Money becomes an obstacle. An obstacle which Perry had a plan for. Perry’s day job was as an estate agent, and on his books was no other than former Watford vice-chairman Haig Oundjian. After negotiation, Haig agreed to become a shareholder, and he invested thousands into the club to help them reach the next step. And it worked. In 2019, Bruno’s Magpies were promoted to the top-flight of football.

The appointment of Nathan Rooney as manager in the 2021-22 season coincided with an even more impressive rise for the Magpies. A 4th place finish and a Rock Cup final appearance. What followed was another improvement. A 3rd place finish and a Rock Cup final win. Not bad for a 10-year-old pub team.

The 2023/24 season was historic for the Magpies. Another 3rd place finish and one that qualified them for the UEFA Conference League First Qualifying Round for the following season. This would not be the first time they have made it to this stage, having done so in the previous two seasons. However, the club were swept aside by the Crusaders of Northern Ireland in 22/23 and then Dundalk of the Republic of Ireland in 23/24.

With the qualification into Europe being successful again and a stronger team than the previous season, hope was high for international success. The pub miracle was just around the corner.

A first qualifying round tie against Derry City of the Republic of Ireland had arrived. A two-legged affair with the dream outcome. A 2-0 win on the rock, followed by a 2-1 defeat in Ireland, saw the Magpies create history. A first European victory saw the pub team progress to the second round. An incredible tie with Danish giants FC Copenhagen awaited them.

For this season’s dream, this is unfortunately where it ended. A 3-0 loss on the rock left a mountain to climb in the second leg. The Magpies travelled to Denmark with a mission. They may have lost the second leg as well, but they did reach another milestone by scoring a goal in the 5-1 defeat. The goal in-fact, put the pub team into a shock 1-0 lead in the 16th minute with Olatunde Bayode cementing his place in Magpies history. A pub team scoring against the giants of Copenhagen, a feat not to be forgotten.

What’s next for the ‘most famous pub team?’ As of April 2025, the club has announced that they will be merging with youth club Calpe City FC. On the 1st of June 2025, the club will be rebranded as Calpe City Magpies. Bruno’s Magpies will forever be remembered as the pub team from Gibraltar, but with this merger, they hope to become a force in Gibraltarian football as they continue to reel in serial title winners Lincoln Red Imps. With another Rock Cup win in 2025, the club endeavours to take the field yet again in more European football. The dream of making a UEFA group stage might not be too far away, and the celebrations will almost certainly be a pint in Bruno’s Bar.

Written and Researched by BSc Cavan Campbell

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