September 8 – Athletic Bilbao are using the international back to celebrate their local club partnerships with the first-ever Euskal non-league day this weekend, where fans of the club travel to partner clubs’ games around the Basque region to show their support.
The initiative aims to highlight the importance of grassroots football, which is deeply important to the club who only employ players from the Basque region.
Taking cues from the British social movement that began in 2010 and aims to boost attendance at local non-professional stadiums during weekends without top-flight action, Athletic’s take on the event will feature the participation of 18 of its affiliated clubs.
The club roster includes a host of players from teams that partner Athletic Bilbao from around the Basque region, some of which have launched the careers of well-known names such as Kepa Arrizabalaga, Aymeric Laporte as well as current Athletic first-team players like Yuri Berchiche and Gorka Guruzeta.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Nerea Ortiz, Athletic Club Vice-President, said: “For Athletic Club, where we only field players born or raised in The Basque Country, our affiliated clubs are of the utmost importance. If Lezama Training Centre is the heart of Athletic’s youth development work, then these partner clubs are the arteries.
“For example, out of the 18 clubs playing at home in this first edition of Euskal Non-League Day, we have found 198 footballers, both male and female, who, in addition to making first-team debuts for Athletic, have also played for one of these 18 clubs. That’s an average of 11 players per club. That’s an extraordinary figure. And let’s not forget, Athletic has 167 partner clubs in total.
Founder of the British Non-League Day, James Doe, said: “To see Athletic produce their own version of Non-League Day is a huge honour. To have one of La Liga’s biggest clubs seeing its value adds further validation to all the hard work we’ve done in England since 2010. With their support, we’ll hopefully see some really positive developments for non-league clubs in the Basque region.”
Athletic Bilbao return to LaLiga action on September 16 at home versus Cadiz.
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