Why Athletic Bilbao have a 'Basque-only' transfer policy | OneFootball

The Basque Country is an autonomous community in Spain with a population of over 2.2 million people. The European country is made up of 17 of these autonomous communities, and they all have the right to self-govern, within the laws set out in the Statutes of Autonomy. It's similar to the way that the state system works in the United States of America. Two of the best teams in the nation are based in the area: Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. Even though neither side has won the Spanish First Division (La Liga) title since the early 1980s, they have both been a staple of the competition for many decades. But, other than the two sides' respective esthetics, there's one key metric that sets apart the two clubs.

Athletic Bilbao only recruits players who are born in the Basque Country, or that have come through the academy of a team who applies its trade in the region. Sociedad have had notable players like Arsenal and Norway captain Martin Ödegaard who wore their iconic blue and white striped jersey over recent years. Those who occupy managerial or coaching positions at Athletic don't have to be from the Basque Country. Bilbao's way of doing things limits them. Of the 2.2 million people living in the region, a tiny percentage of them will be of the right age, gender, and skill level to be able to play for the club. But it hasn't stopped them from being a successful team.

Bilbao are the third most successful club in Spanish footballing history. They have won eight league titles in their existence, all of which have been since the implementation of this policy, and they have 23 Copa del Rey trophies in their cabinet. The drawbacks are that they have a self-imposed transfer ban when it comes to most footballers; it's much harder for them to go out and buy players from other clubs. Across the whole of 2023, they only made 12 signings in total. What it does do, though, is give more chances to young players and give them opportunities much earlier than other teams would. The club's philosophy clearly states its position on players.

How Bilbao's transfer policy started

The policy stems from nationalism. The Basque people, who have their own language, as many of the autonomous communities of Spain do, see themselves as being part of one nation. Said people are indigenous to the Western Pyrenees and are now split between modern-day Spain and France.

In the first 13 years of the club's existence, having been founded in 1898, the club fielded players who were English. But Bilbao have only let players from the Basque Country play for them since then. In 1911, the two Basque clubs faced each other in the Copa del Rey. Bilbao decided to play some ineligible English players in the game, which caused a dispute with Sociedad. To avoid something like this from occurring again, the Royal Spanish Football Federation introduced a rule that only allowed Spanish citizens to compete in the competition. At the time, many footballers were from the Basque region, so this new rule was no issue for Bilbao. The rule around Spanish citizenship was eventually changed to allow foreign players to play in the Copa del Rey, but Athletic decided to pursue this policy. 2011 marked 100 years of Athletic only playing Basque-born players in their team, as per La Vanguardia. The policy applies to the club's youth and women's teams also.

Origins of players

This region of the world isn't a hotspot for immigration. It's a predominantly white area, and this has caused some PR issues for Bilbao over the years. Their policy of only allowing academy graduates and Basque-born players to feature in their teams has meant that there has been a lack of black players, in comparison to the number of white players in their team. The first black player to wear the red and white stripes of Athletic was central defender Jonas Ramalho. He was 18 years old when he made his debut for the club.

Before him, there were only a few players who shared Ramalho's complexion and were even rumoured to be making a move to Bilbao. Midfielder Benjamín Zarrandona, who is descended from a family from Equatorial Guinea, was reportedly being looked at by Bilbao. The transfer never came to be, and he told a Spanish radio station that his skin tone might have been part of the reason. "Athletic wanted to sign me when I was still playing at Valladolid," said Zarrandona, according to Sports Illustrated. "Some said that the reason they didn't was the colour of my skin. Luis Fernández [the coach] told me that and so did someone else."

This lack of diversity in the playing squad has led to criticism of the policy, as it leads to this being the case. Suggestions have been made by parts of the fanbase to clear up and slightly alter the philosophy at the heart of the club. Some have asked why the children of Basque-born people aren't allowed to play for the club, when they would be allowed to play for a Basque national team, as per The Athletic. They also suggested the idea of grandchildren of said people being permitted to play for Bilbao. The group that has put forward these points said that they have received over 250 emails and messages in support of these proposals, according to The Athletic.

Xabi Alonso

While Xabi Alonso didn't play for Athletic Bilbao, the former central midfielder from Tolosa won trophies everywhere he went, and he's certainly the most notable footballer to have come from the region. He was part of a magical Spanish midfield trio, alongside Barcelona's Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, that guided them to world dominance over four years. Alonso won two European Championships and his country's first World Cup between 2008 and 2012 with Spain. You can certainly make a case that his club career was as good as his national one though. Before that, Alonso played for Bilbao's arch-rivals Real Sociedad.

The Spaniard aided Real Madrid's transition into their second wave of Galacticos. He may have only won one league title (2011/12) and one Champions League (2013/14), but this run was just the start of Real Madrid's most recent run of dominating European football, and Xabi's role in it cannot be understated. The midfielder won three league titles with Bayern Munich, and the Champions League with Liverpool when they beat AC Milan, after being 3-0 down at halftime, in 2005.

Aymeric Laporte

The former Manchester City defender was one of the biggest names to make the switch from European football to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, but it's not the first big switch in his career. Laporte came through youth international football playing for France, before making the switch to the Spanish national team in time for the Euros that were held in 2021. He made a name for himself with Bilbao, before making a big-money move to City in 2018. His achievements during five years in Manchester fill up most of his trophy cabinet, with five Premier League, one Champions League, and two FA Cup winners' medals being the most outstanding pieces.

'The Lion King' as he was known, was the epitome of Basque football in the late 2000s and early 2010s. He's a true striker who could do it all. He was a deadly header of the ball, and the rest of the tools that he used to find the back of the net were just as lethal. Llorente scored 85 goals in 262 games for Bilbao and is considered by many to be the greatest player in the club's 125-year history. As well as Athletic, El Rey León represented some of Europe's biggest football teams, like Juventus, Napoli, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Williams is one of the most prominent figures in the recent history of Bilbao, and football in the Basque Country in general. He's loved by the club's fans for his odds-defying durability, and his technical brilliance too. The Ghanaian international played a La Liga record of 251 straight games, a record which was previously held by Sociedad's Antonio Larrañaga, who amassed 201 consecutive appearances, as per Athletic Bilbao. The run started back in April 2016, and ended in January 2023. Not only is he significant to the club because of this record, but he's one of the few black players to play for the club. His brother, 21-year-old Nico Williams, has also emerged as a top talent for Athletic.