Basque Country national football team

Basque Country
AssociationEuskadiko Futbol Federakundea
Head coachJagoba Arrasate
Most caps1930s: Isidro Lángara (44)[1]
Modern: Xabi Prieto (14)[2][3]
Top scorer1930s: Isidro Lángara (17)
Modern: Aritz Aduriz (13)[4]
First colours
Second colours
First international
As North Federation:
 Basque Country 6–1 Catalonia 
(Bilbao; 3 January 1915)
As Basque Country:
 Catalonia 0–1 Basque Country 
(Barcelona; 8 June 1930)
Biggest win
 Denmark (DAI) 1–11 Basque Country 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 29 August 1937)
Biggest defeat
 Mexico 8–4 Basque Country 
(Mexico; 16 October 1938)
 Basque Country 1–5 Hungary 
(Vitoria-Gasteiz; 31 August 1980)

The Basque Country national football team (Basque: Euskal selekzioa) represents the Basque Country in football. It selects players from the Basque Country autonomous community, Navarre and the French Basque Country[5] and is organised by the Basque Football Federation. It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore only allowed to play friendly matches against FIFA or non-FIFA affiliated teams.

The team has been referred to by various names including Euskadiko selekzioa, Euskal Herriko futbol selekzioa, Selección de Euskadi, Vasconia, Equipo Vasco, Euskadi XI and Basque XI.[6] Most of their home matches have been played in the San Mamés Stadium which was replaced in 2013 by the new San Mamés.

The Basque Country has had a football team of its own since 1930.[7] During the Second Spanish Republic, they played firstly under the name of Baskoniako selekzioa (the Vasconia team) and then from 1936 as Euzkadiko selekzioa (the Euskadi team). During Franco's 36-year dictatorship it only played two games. After Franco's death in 1975, the team was reformed using the name Euskadiko selekzioa and from the early 1990s began playing regular friendly matches, usually during La Liga's Christmas break. Up to the present time they have played 40 matches against a wide range of FIFA national teams such as Russia, Nigeria, Uruguay, Serbia, Tunisia, Estonia, Venezuela and Costa Rica, plus others against non-FIFA teams of various types.

In 2007, the team's name was controversially changed to Euskal Herriko futbol Selekzioa causing disagreements which led to the annual matches being cancelled. In 2008, a compromise was reached and it was changed again to Euskal selekzioa.

In the lower grades (such as in the Spanish regional championship for youths and the UEFA Regions' Cup for amateurs), the team is either called Euskadiko selekzioa or Seleccíon del País Vasco and exclusively represents the Basque Country autonomous community (Euskadi), with Navarre competing separately.

  1. ^ Gotzon, Joseba. "Book 3". 100 Años Seleccion Vasca De Futbol 1915-2015. pp. 156–170.
  2. ^ "Convocatorias desde 1915" [Call-ups since 1915]. Euskal Selekzioa (in Spanish). 31 December 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Para Prieto todo empezó contra Honduras" [For Prieto everything started against Honduras]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 26 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. ^ "La interminable racha de Aduriz" [The endless streak of Aduriz]. Deia (in Spanish). 31 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference different was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Basque XI 0-1 Wales". BBC Sport. 21 May 2006.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bilbao31 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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