Basque National Football Team as a Political Tool. One Hundred Years Old Project and Its Changes (1915–2014)

Abstract

The goal of my article is to analyze football in Basque Country, or better to say Basque national football representation, as a political tool since its inception. I decided to focus on this specific region because football, and Basque national team as well, has a long history and plays an important role in the whole Spanish society. Football in Spain is a political issue because of the multi-national composition of the state where we observe strong separatist or secessionist demands. In my opinion, Basque national team has never been “only” a football selection. Euskal Selekzioa is a well-known Basque nationalist speaker because of the way how it represents Basque nation. It uses one of the most popular things all round the world, kicking the ball. This article is divided into four main parts. In the first chapter, I deal with the birth of Basque national movement and with the discovery of the game of football in Spain. The second chapter is dedicated to the Spanish Civil War when the world-famous Basque national football team existed. Another part observes the Basque nationalism in the context of football, not only in Franco’s time but during the years of the transition to democracy. I finish my article with a contemplation of the officialization of Basque national football team.