F.C. Hound Dogs

Hound Dogs
Full nameFootball Club Hound Dogs
Founded2012 (2012)
GroundVictoria Stadium, Gibraltar
Capacity2000
ManagerRyan McCarthy
LeagueGibraltar Football League
2024–25Gibraltar Intermediate League, 9th (admitted to professional football)
Websitehttp://fchounddogs.com

FC Hound Dogs is a football and futsal club from Gibraltar. They play their football in the Gibraltar Football League and the Rock Cup; their Futsal team compete in the Futsal 1st Division.

FC Hound Dogs offers young footballers in Gibraltar the platform and opportunity to play football and futsal. The club was founded with a strict rotation policy where the focus is on giving everyone game time.

History

Formation

The club was founded in the summer of 2012 by Chris Gomez, Carl Bradford, David Bradford and Ercan Mehmet. The four of them set up the club from scratch, and later added Tyrone Smith to the backroom staff for the 2013–14 season. Chris and Tyrone had both been involved in coaching youth football for many years in Gibraltar, and as a result, had a group of young players interested in signing for them.

The vast majority of this group of players had been involved with Chris and Tyrone at Lions Gibraltar F.C., and later SJ Corinthians where they played alongside Ercan during the 2011–12 season and gained invaluable experience playing in the Gibraltar Premier Division. When SJ Corinthians folded at the end of the 2011–12 season, these young players had no club to play for, and as a result FC Hound Dogs was born.

After raising money via the players and founder members they were able to register and enter a football team into Gibraltar Second Division for the 2012–13 season; sponsorship was later secured via the Calpe Hounds Public House. The club started positively in their first season, finishing 4th.

After UEFA membership

The ascension of the Gibraltar Football Association to membership of UEFA led to a lot more money coming into football on the Rock, and as such, results began to decline for Hound Dogs with lower end of season finishes following in the coming seasons, although the club did provide a platform for young players such as Nick Castle, Etien Victory, Jamie Fortuna and Alan Wszeberowski to move to bigger clubs. Co-founder Ercan "Urge" Mehmet left the club in 2017, with a testimonial played in June that year.

However, results and finances continued to lag behind the rest of the pack, and in 2019 Hound Dogs withdrew from the newly formed Gibraltar National League, earning special dispensation to play in the Gibraltar Intermediate League along with U23 sides from other clubs in Gibraltar. After six years competing in the Intermediate League, Hound Dogs officially joined the Gibraltar Football League ahead of the 2025–26 season, after obtaining a Silver License.[1] This was followed by the appointment of Ryan McCarthy as head coach, ending Chris Gomez's 13 years in charge of the club.

Current staff

Position Name
Team Manager Republic of Ireland Ryan McCarthy
Assistant Manager Gibraltar Ross Gray
Coach Gibraltar Liam Moreno
Gibraltar Paul Francis
Kit man
Team Delegate
Gibraltar Sean Calderon

Current football squad

As of 14 August 2025.[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Gibraltar GIB Dean Penfold (captain)
2 MF Gibraltar GIB Shane Borda
3 DF Gibraltar GIB James Chiles-Cowell
4 DF Palestine PLE Yousef Al-Shubasi
5 DF Pakistan PAK Mohammed Sajad (vice-captain)
6 MF France FRA Simon-Antoine Aoudou
7 FW Morocco MAR Aimen Salmi
8 MF England ENG Souleymane Diallo
9 FW France FRA Rocky Lendet
10 MF England ENG Mohamed Dafallah
14 MF England ENG Tyrese Sutherland
15 DF England ENG Daniel Smith
16 MF United States USA Chad Feingold
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Togo TOG Gaius Lawovi
18 MF Argentina ARG Fede Canteros
19 FW Argentina ARG Luca Gallardo
20 MF England ENG Zakaria Ali Ahmed
21 DF Gibraltar GIB Stefan Moreno
22 DF Brazil BRA Pedro Bahia
23 DF Portugal POR Nélson Benga
26 MF Gibraltar GIB Jesse Clinton
27 FW Gibraltar GIB Bertie Faller
31 GK Gibraltar GIB Zack Zammit
37 MF Gibraltar GIB Etien Victory
77 GK Gibraltar GIB Jesse Gonzalez

Retired numbers

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
11 DF Gibraltar GIB Carl Bradford (posthumous honour)

References

  1. ^ FC Hound Dogs To Join Gibraltar Football League For Season 25/26 Your Gibraltar TV. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  2. ^ Our squad for 2024/25 FC Hound Dogs. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.