Sports court orders FIFA to admit Gibraltar as member (The Associated Press)

FIFA has been ordered by sport's highest court to accept Gibraltar as a member, opening the national team's path to play in the 2018 World Cup qualifying program. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Monday it upheld the Gibraltar soccer federation's appeal against FIFA blocking entry in 2014, but its panel of judges could not directly grant membership. ''The panel has unanimously ordered that the FIFA Congress take all necessary measures to admit (Gibraltar) as a full member of FIFA as soon as possible, within the limits of the FIFA Statutes,'' the court said in a statement.