Athletic Club have become the first La Liga club to dedicate a weekend without competitive fixtures (9th – 10th September) to highlighting the importance of grassroots football and encouraging attendance at local grounds.
The British social campaign Non-League Day was born in 2010 with the aim of using a weekend without Premier League fixtures to support non-professional football.
Athletic Club, aware that the values promoted by this initiative have a direct connection with their identity, will be the first La Liga outfit to dedicate a weekend without competitive fixtures to promoting grassroots football and supporting attendance at local grounds.
After all, the 141 sides that make up practically all of the different tiers of non-professional football in Biscay are, in turn, Athletic Club affiliated teams. To complete the family that makes Athletic so unique, they also have to add the other 19 Basque clubs: nine in Araba, seven in Navarre, two in Gipuzkoa and one in Iparralde.
Athletic Club, in collaboration with the Biscay Federation, the Basque Football Federation and their partner clubs, will use the weekend of the 9th and 10th of September to promote attendance at the local stadiums.
The aim is to raise awareness around grassroots football and to frame this event in the context of Athletic’s 125th anniversary celebrations. Likewise, by adopting innovative initiatives such as Non-League Day, the club is looking to move forward with its process of modernisation while remaining faithful to its essence and roots. Furthermore, the project fits in with the Club’s internationalisation strategy and the ongoing growth of Athletic’s brand in the United Kingdom.
Non-League Day will be an event which exemplifies and honours the sense of belonging shared between the institution, the team, the fans and the region. To this end, Athletic Club, in addition to providing accessible information about our partner clubs’ fixtures, will also propose attractive plans to encourage turnout and participation. Every ground will become a space where community, sport and entertainment come together for the good of society.
In short, it will be a weekend in which Athletic fans can express their gratitude towards the work carried out by all of the club’s affiliated teams, from those in the RFEF Segunda División to the amateur leagues.
As the weekend of the 9th and 10th of September approaches, Athletic Club will provide further information about this pioneering initiative in La Liga.
