Newly crowned Copa del Rey champions Athletic Club are unique in the world. How? you ask. Let’s delve right into it.
Athletic Club has a Basque-only player policy. This means that all of the club’s players must be from the Basque country or formed locally in the Basque. Players who were born in the Basque Country but raised elsewhere are also eligible as well as players who have familial ties to the country.
While the policy today is a big part of the club’s identity, its origin was ironically rather more practical than an effort at antiglobalization and erosion of a club’s identity. In the 1911 Copa del Rey, the club was accused of fielding ineligible players. The club took so much offense at this charge that they decided that they would only field Basque players or players formed locally to avoid a repeat. And so since 1912, Athletic Club only fields Basque players. To play for the club, you have to be from the Basque or have been formed locally. Being formed locally means the player was developed in a Basque academy for long enough to be considered Basque even when the player isn’t native to the Basque or has familial ties to the region.
The policy massively limits their pool of player selection and it probably has affected their performance relative to other clubs who have a more liberal approach to recruitment. Despite this, Athletic Club is the only club apart from Barcelona and Real Madrid to have never been relegated from La Liga.
They have also been quite successful in Spanish top-flight football. They are the fourth most successful club in La Liga with eight titles and second only to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. The club just won their 25th Copa del Rey title last week after losing six finals in a row. This goes to show that even while holding on to their restrictive recruitment policy, they were very successful in the past and are still very relevant in modern football. Their Copa del Rey triumph means that they will play in next season’s Europa League.
85% of their players come from their youth academy and since they don’t spend much on player recruitment, they’re not easily tempted to sell off their players either. If they do decide to sell their players, the money must be very good.
Athletic Club is a football club with a rich history that stands out in world football for its policies. What started as a practical move has now become such a huge part of the club’s identity that fans and the club’s management would rather be relegated than relax the club’s player recruitment policy. Every young footballer in the Basque dreams of playing for Athletic Club and winning with them. Their policy prioritizes community, culture, and identity over the conventional trophies as a mark of club success. And even with that, they are still quite successful.
Over the years, the club has been able to produce famous footballers like Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ander Herera, Aymeric Laporte, and the famous Williams brothers who were pivotal in their most recent Copa del Rey triumph.
Athletic Bilbao stands out in world football for their unique recruitment policy and being able to stick by it for over a century despite pressures to relax it. The club prioritizes community and cultural identity over trophies and what is conventionally defined as club success. This is the reason why winning the Copa del Rey last week meant so much for the club. It was their first major trophy in 40 years and they did it with local players.
How far do you think they’ll go in the Europa League next season? Where do you think they’ll finish in La Liga this season?