In the Basque Country solidarity with Palestine is a way of life
JVL Introduction
Athletic Club, famed for its Basque heritage, has distinguished itself from the rest of Europe’s footballing elite by showing strong and consistent solidarity with the Palestinian cause
South African born reporter Azad Essa tells the story of how a football club in the heart of Europe was moved to stand with the Palestinian cause.
In October 2025 it launched a football training program for 8,000 Palestinian children living in the refugee camps in Syria. To celebrate it invited 11 Palestinian football players, many, from the surrounding area, to join them before a regular La Liga feature. They were led out by Honey Thaljieh, a former captain of the Palestinian women’s national football team
50,000 people, many with no interest in football, turned out to welcome them in recognition of a shared history of oppression, displacement, solidarity and resilience – as they have done with the people of South Africa, Ireland, and others as well.
RK
This article was originally published by Middle East Eye on Fri 6 Feb 2026. Read the original here.
Why one of Europe's most famous football clubs chose to stand with Palestine
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I remember as a child during Franco’s government to attend football matches with my dad. While watching football plans for strikes in factories were hatched.
It was the noise of football matches that provided cover from the spies in the police forces, as it was impossible to hear what men attending football with their children were planning to do.
Impossible to police the corridors when men will take their children to the toilets at particular times and for a few minutes hang outside to pass messages as young children don’t wait for intervals when they “need” to go to toilets. Hence, protest and solidarity was feed into us from an early age.
Thank you for this very interesting article. I live fairly near Basque country in SW France and indeed have acquaintances with a Basque heritage, but did not know this. And thank you to MCV also for their interesting reminiscences of protest in Franco’s time.