Leo F.C. was a football team from

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. They played in the

Gibraltar Second Division The Gibraltar Second Division was the second tier of football in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, run by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA). The league was founded in 1909 after the expansion of the Gibraltar Premier Division ...

and the

Rock Cup The Rock Cup is Gibraltar's premier cup association football, football competition, and is organised annually by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA). From 1894/95 Gibraltar's Cup Competition was known as "The Senior Merchant's Cup". In 1935 ...

History

Formation and Third Division years (2004–2008)

Leo FC originally formed as Leo Santos & Sons in 2004. The club started life in the Gibraltar Third Division, enduring a difficult season and finishing a disappointing second bottom of the 11 team league above only Req Duo Athletic by the end of the 2004–05 season. The next season, Leo Santos & Sons again finished 10th in the league, but did relatively better due to new entry Bay Side FC finishing bottom of the new 12 team table. Improvements became more apparent in the 2006–07 season, seeing a surprise 6th place finish for the club, while the following season saw them repeat the feat. However, both times they finished a considerable distance away from the promotion race, finishing nearly 30 points off the pace of champions Shamrock 101 and Sporting Club Gibraltar in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Promotion to Second Division (2008–2011)

The summer of 2008 saw a significant restructuring of Gibraltar football by the

Gibraltar Football Association The Gibraltar Football Association or also Gibraltar FA (GFA) is the governing body for Gibraltarian football and futsal. It was formed as the ''Gibraltar Civilian Football Association'' in 1895, changing to its current name in later years. It is ...

. Reserve teams were removed from the football system and instead placed in a separate Reserves League, so the Third Division was abolished and all senior teams moved into the

, among them Leo Santos & Sons. Buoyed by the unexpected promotion, and signing a number of players from the folded reserve sides, the club finished a surprise 5th place in their first season at the second level. The return of former Gibraltar football powerhouses Britannia XI in 2009 saw a less impressive 7th place in 2009–10, and the emergence of feeder clubs for the bigger teams from the

Gibraltar Premier Division The Gibraltar Premier Division was a football league established by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) in 1905, and the top tier of football in Gibraltar. It originally contained eight member clubs, but it has grown over the years. In 19 ...

(such as Gibraltar Pilots,

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

and

Red Imps ''Red Devils'' (russian: Красные дьяволята, Krasnye dyavolyata) is a 1923 Soviet adventure film directed by Ivan Perestiani based on the eponymous story by Pavel Blyakhin. It has become one of the most famous and oft-quoted work ...

) made it more difficult for other Second Division teams to sign players.

Name changes and league's entry to UEFA (2011–2017)

In order to compete with the new feeder clubs, in 2011 Leo signed a sponsorship deal that saw them change their name to Leo FC Parilla for the foreseeable future. However, performances off the pitch failed to improve and the club settled into the bottom half of the table. In 2013, the

was accepted into

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

as a full member, leading to a large influx of funds, interest and foreign players into Gibraltar football. As other teams enjoyed greater competitiveness as a result of this, Leo Parilla continued to see a decline in results and finished 13th of 14 teams in the 2014–15 season. At the end of this season, Leo changed their name to simply Leo Football Club. Subsequent seasons saw them return to their status as a mid-table team.

Takeovers and dissolution (2017–2019)

A major shakeup of the club occurred on 15 June 2017, which saw Dani Herrera appointed as Director of Football, while former

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

international footballer

Catanha Henrique Guedes da Silva (born 6 March 1972), known as Catanha, is a former professional footballer who played as a striker, and the manager of CD Nerja. He played almost exclusively for modest clubs in his native Brazil (seven teams in total) ...

was appointed manager for the coming season, outlining a desire to secure promotion for the first time. However, Catanha left during pre-season and Norberto Alonso Simón was appointed in his place on 27 September. Simón left the club 21 December 2017, after the club was taken over, although he was re-appointed later on 12 January 2018. With an entirely rebuilt squad, Leo's form drastically improved, including a club record 8–0 victory over winter break league leaders

Cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during ...

, and the club moved up the table to finish an eventual 5th, above Cannons. Simón left the club after the conclusion of the season, and was replaced by former Leo manager Rogelio Ramagge on 26 June 2018. However, poor performances led to him being sacked in the winter break, with Paco Sánchez coming in to see out the season. After the two tiers merged in Gibraltar in June 2019, former Glacis United manager Dani Amaya was appointed manager on 15 June, with Sánchez becoming his assistant. However, an attempted takeover was blocked by the

in August 2019. Without the additional investment, the club resigned from the league and ceased operations.Leo FC withdraw from the National League
Football Gibraltar. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.

Club records

*Best league finish - 5th,

: 2008–09, 2016–17, 2017–18 *Best Second Division Cup performance - Semi-finals: 2018–19 *Biggest win: 15–1 vs College 1975, 24 September 2015. *Biggest defeat: 0-10 vs Bruno's Magpies, 20 January 2019

References

External links

* * {{Football in Gibraltar Football clubs in Gibraltar 2004 establishments in Gibraltar Association football clubs established in 2004