Basque football teams

The Game columnist Andy Murray explains how. Borders in Spain matter, basque football teams. The Basque Country, emphatically, takes the first option. A country within a country hemmed in by the Pyrenees, this rugged region of northern Spain — which historically extends into parts of southern France — is fiercely proud and protective of its unique traditions, customs and language.

Our Basque football guide heads deep into the heart of a region that was in many respects the birthplace of football in Spain with Basque clubs playing a vital role and enjoying considerable success during those formative years. Despite only accounting for just 1. Pamplona-based Osasuna are another top flight side that largely identifies as Basque and does fall within the wider Basque Country which also extends into France. However seen as we are dividing these Spanish football travel guides up by the 17 different autonomous communities of Spain — Osasuna will be featured in the Navarre guide. This is a compact and quite densely populated region in the far northwestern corner of Spain. Many towns and cities have separate names in Spanish and Basque — an extremely unique language that is totally unrelated to Spanish or indeed any other European language. The largest city and biggest metropolitan area is Bilbao Bilbo in Basque.

Basque football teams

Can you list the top facts and stats about Basque Football Federation? Its offices are in Bilbao in the Otxarkoaga-Txurdinaga district. The federation organises and selects the Basque Country national football team which draws its players not only from the Basque Country autonomous region, but also the neighbouring Basque regions of Navarre and the French Basque Country. In the early 20th century, football federations were formed for each of the Basque regions of Biscay , as the 'North Federation' with Cantabria and Gipuzkoa a offshoot , with each holding their own tournaments the Biscay Championship and Gipuzkoa Championship respectively. As long ago as the idea of creating a single federation for the whole Basque Country was considered, [4] but for various reasons this was not done at that time. The Basque Football Federation's purpose is to promote, organise and authorise association football competition across the Basque Country autonomous region. In addition to this, it selects and arranges fixtures for the Basque Country national football team l, [7] for which it aims to gain UEFA and FIFA affiliation so that it can participate in regular international competitions. The Basque Football Federation has as one of its aims the official participation of the Basque Country national team in international competitions. In , Pablo Porta, president of the Spanish Football Federation, stated that the Basque Country might participate in the next World Cup ; he explained that in the same way that Welsh clubs participate in the English league but are also represented by the Wales national team , so the same model could be used in Spain. In , the Basque Football Federation changed its statutes to claim responsibility for international competitions in the greater Basque Country , but the Supreme Court of Spain suspended these new statutes.

Spanish first round —18 [o] [].

For those that don't know the story, or perhaps missed the headlines, then perhaps I can recap. Joseba Etxeberria, a long-serving player for Athletic Bilbao has offered to play for the club for free next season, which it is believed will be his last before retirement. Etxeberria is believed to be aiming to reach the landmark of games played for Athletic Bilbao. While much of the focus following this generous achievement has undoubtedly been on Etxeberria and his sincere act of goodwill, I thought that the act itself illustrated perhaps a bit more, beyond Joseba's generous nature. The act itself spoke volumes for Athletic Bilbao as a club, for its principles, its fan and the very nature of the club itself.

Spain's oldest goalscorer Aritz Aduriz played in an international friendly on Friday - but not for Spain. The year-old captained a Basque Country team that also featured fellow Spain internationals Inaki Williams, Inigo Martinez and Asier Illarramendi against Venezuela - the world's 32nd best side. As they are not an 'official' team, they are not part of Fifa's rankings - but they still won in front of a crowd of 15, at Alaves' Mendizorrotza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The squad is selected from players born in the autonomous region in northern Spain, as well as the neighbouring regions of Navarre and the French Basque Country. The Basque Country has a large degree of self-rule, its own language and cultural traditions, and Basque Football Federation general secretary Kepa Allica said Friday's match, their first since December , was "more than a game". Players can play for both Spain and the Basque Country because the latter is not affiliated with Fifa or Uefa, but that is their ultimate goal. We want our own team playing in official competitions. Aduriz is the Basque Country side's top goalscorer with 12 goals in 11 games, while Sociedad legend Xabi Prieto is their record appearance-maker. Allica says it is "not difficult" to call up players who play for Spanish teams, but it is "more difficult" if they play in other leagues around Europe. Before Friday's match, their last outing was in , where they beat Tunisia at Bilbao's San Mames stadium.

Basque football teams

The Basque Country has had a football team of its own since During Franco's year dictatorship it only played two games. After Franco's death in , the team was reformed using the name Euskadiko selekzioa and from the early s began playing regular friendly matches, usually during La Liga 's Christmas break. In , the team's name was controversially changed to Euskal Herriko futbol Selekzioa causing disagreements which led to the annual matches being cancelled. In , a compromise was reached and it was changed again to Euskal selekzioa. Each regional federation organised its own league, and also selected a team to play against other regions. On 3 January they played their first match which was against Catalonia in Bilbao and won 6—1, [9] [10] and then on 7 February they played them again but in Barcelona, this time drawing 2—2. On 4 June of the same year they beat Catalonia 5—0 in Bilbao.

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Diario Vasco. If you have any questions about visiting the Basque Country for football reasons, feel free to get in touch. Retrieved 20 May Mundo Deportivo 4 January , in Spanish. Retrieved 13 March LaLiga Blog. Next they travelled to Argentina, arriving on 25 February Money raised was reportedly used to fund a hospital in La Rosarie, France, [32] used by Spanish refugees, and also to help support the thousands of Basque children who had been sent abroad for safety. Spanish first round —04 [f]. This difference of opinion encompassed the nuances of the names, their history known or unknown, and changing public opinions towards what name should be used when referring to all people of Basque culture.

Journalist Ian Hawkey has published an interesting article in the Irish daily The National in which he states that not all Basque soccer is limited to Athletic Bilbao. He says there are four clubs, leaving out the one club in all of the Premier League whose name is in the language of the Basques: Osasuna.

Retrieved 11 March Argentine club suspends 4 amid rape investigation. Andy Murray is an award-winning sports writer and columnist. Winners of the Basque Country fourth tier group, [15] with possible promotion to the level above and an entry to the following season's Copa del Rey. The Basques' summer fixture away to Panama [80] did little to enhance their credentials. Their first match with that name was against Cantabria on 29 November in Santander, when the Cantabrians won 3—2. This Basque football guide was published in April De Gruyter. Within that heated contest, Athletic Bilbao and Sociedad see themselves in each other -- a sea of red and blue vs. FC Dallas. The Basque Country has had a football team of its own since The club followed the Basque-only homegrown player policy for years, but diverted from it in when it signed Irish international John Aldridge from Liverpool. Retrieved 15 December In , a compromise was reached and it was changed again to Euskal selekzioa.