Daily Times

MADRID: The Basque Football Federation has applied to the sport’s world governing body FIFA and European soccer organisation UEFA to be officially recognised so the regional team can compete in international competition. A delegation from the regional federation and regional government travelled to FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich and UEFA’s base in Nyon on Tuesday to register the application for full membership. A statement on the Basque federation website said it was making the application on behalf of its members following a vote in a 2018 general assembly and that the request represented “the majority desire of Basque society”.

Federation lawyer David Salinas-Armendariz said joining UEFA and FIFA was “a legitimate and absolutely viable objective from a legal point of view” adding that European territories that were not independent states had been recognised by the two organisations before. Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, was accepted by UEFA in 2013 and by FIFA in 2016. Salinas-Armendariz added that the Basque federation was ready to negotiate with the Spanish federation on the issue and had informed the national governing body of the request. UEFA and FIFA did not immediately respond when asked to comment.

The Basque country is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities but enjoys a number of privileges, including fiscal autonomy. Its football team, known as Euskadi, was founded in 1915 and plays friendly matches but has never played in an official competition. The team’s last match was a 2-1 win over Costa Rica in November, featuring Spain internationals Iker Muniain and Inaki Williams. The current coach is Javier Clemente, who managed Spain between 1992 and 1998, leading them to two World Cups.