Gretna, Manitoba Gretna after Gretna Green in Scotland, also a border community, where runaway couples were married by the blacksmith at his anvil. Gretna soon became a prominent border community. As businesses thrived and expanded, Gretna life in the early 20th century was filled with promise and opportunity. As progress would have it, changes afforded Gretna no favours and the community began losing the grain milling industry responsible for its boom. After the World War II, Gretna became the centre for oil transfer to the United States of America. Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (the main storage and transfer company of oil in southern
Gretna F.C. therefore qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Gretna became the first team from the third tier of the Scottish league to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Gretna faced League of Ireland side Derry City in the second qualifying round, but lost 7–3 on aggregate, losing the first leg 5–1 at Fir Park, Motherwell (Raydale Park was deemed unsuitable for European football). Gretna had also been promoted to the First Division in 2006, and for much of the 2006–07 season, they led the division, with a margin of 12 points at one stage. Manager Rowan Alexander was forced to step down