FORMER Weymouth goalkeeper Matt Cafer is hoping to become part of the Gibraltar national team following a change to the rules that makes him eligible to play for them.

As a result of the rule change, which was announced in April, Cafer will try and stake his claim to the position, having most recently been playing for Manchester 62 in Gibraltar, but is not with a club after leaving them following their relegation from the Gibraltan top flight.

Cafer said: “My thought process is that if you are out of sight you are out of mind a little bit so another year or two here would not be the end of the world for me. Of course, especially if I manage to get myself into the national side, there is in September the UEFA Nations Cup.”

For the tournament, which starts in September, Gibraltar will be in group four of League D where they will face FYR Macedonia, Liechtenstein and Armenia.

When asked if he is feeling confident of getting into the national team, Cafer said: “Hopefully, at the moment, there are not really that many goalkeepers.

“There are not that many Gibraltan goalkeepers playing regularly over here. There is definitely a gap there for me, it is obviously up to me how I play, how I express myself whether I get selected. I definitely see an opportunity, if not, I do not think the FA would have made it aware to me that I am eligible.”

When asked about his gut reaction when the rule change opened up the potential opportunity, Cafer said: “I was ecstatic, I was very happy. For me it is a massive opportunity. It is down to me now to prove myself and be worthy of going into the national side but just to be able to be eligible to represent a country itself is a great achievement.”

Cafer captained Weymouth from under-12 up to under-16 level and last season had spells with Bath, Gosport Borough and Farnborough before moving back to Gibraltar in January.

Gibraltar are currently ranked 196th in the FIFA world rankings and most recently earned a 1-0 win over Latvia in a home friendly.