Iñigo Santxo and Martxel Toledo
05-01-2021, BERRIA.
Abstract:
The petition to obtain the officialty of the Basque football team and compete in the international arena and its tournaments has been overdue for years. It should be noted that the Basque team was born in 1930, holding a large number of matches internationally thereafter. Following Franco’s dictatorial regime, the Basque team played again a considerable number of international matches, but not on an official basis, since it is not a UEFA or FIFA member.
The authors of this article remind that the Football Federation of the Western Basque Country has finally filed a petition to the UEFA and the FIFA to become members in these organizations. That petition should have been filed earlier, since a wide majority of the Basque people support an official Basque team, with Basque footballers and organizations like ESAIT also demanding it.
FIFA and UEFA should consider and accept the petition. During this stage, diplomatic and political work will be vital. The Spanish Football Federation’s position on this matter is a guess, as well as that of the Spanish Government. Therefore, the authors strongly believe that a concerted effort of all Basque agents, such as Basque Government, professional footballers, federations, political parties and social agents, endorsing the Basque team’s officialty, will be critical.
