The annual event promoting and supporting grassroots football returns for a third time on March 22 and 23
This Wednesday at San Mamés, Athletic Club, through its Foundation, officially announced the third edition of Euskal Non-League Day, an annual event designed to support grassroots football. This year it will be held on the weekend of 22 and 23 March, taking advantage of the international break in men’s football.
The presentation event at The Cathedral was attended by numerous representatives of Athletic’s partner clubs and also included the participation of Iñigo Lekue, senior leader in the men’s first team, and Irene Oguiza, captain of the women’s first team.
Both players spent their youth careers at Athletic affiliated clubs. Lekue at Danok Bat and Oguiza at Ezkurdi KT. The footballers spoke about the importance of grassroots football in their respective lives and its value in forming human and sporting values.
The focus now turns to that special weekend in March. In addition to giving our partner clubs the visibility and recognition they deserve, Athletic Club has also organised raffles to encourage fans to join the party and attend matches at their local grounds.
Travel and accommodation, VIP experiences and guided tour of Lezama
Each of the partner clubs participating in Euskal Non-League Day will receive a batch of tickets for the raffles organised by Athletic Club.
Tickets cost €3 and the money raised will go entirely to the partner club, which will also donate part of the proceeds to a charity in their community.
The four Euskal Non-League Day raffle prizes (three general and one for each participating club) are as follows:
- Double ticket, travel and accommodation for two people to go with the men’s first team to an away LaLiga match. First general prize in which all participating partner clubs take part.
- Double Players Zone VIP ticket for a LaLiga match at San Mamés. This includes VIP seats located next to the teams’ benches and access to the stadium’s VIP ring from an hour and a half before kick-off. Second general prize in which all participating partner clubs take part.
- Pass for two people to attend a women’s first team training session and receive a guided tour of the Lezama training centre. Third general prize in which all participating partner clubs take part.
- Double tickets for a LaLiga match at San Mamés. These prizes will be drawn individually at the ground of each participating partner clubs. The draw will take place at half-time. The winning person must be at the ground in order to receive the prize.
Affiliated clubs interested in taking part have until February 14 to sign up for the third edition of Euskal Non-League Day.
About Non-League Day
Euskal Non-League Day is an initiative inspired by the British Non-League Day movement, which has been promoting attendance at non-professional football matches during international breaks since 2010.
Following on from previous collaborations, Athletic Club will once again look to connect Euskal Non-League Day with its British counterpart.
In 2023, a group of Athleticzales fans attended Dulwich Hamlet FC’s NLD fixture and last year Athletic linked up with historical English opponents playing non-league football.
Aware that the values promoted by this community initiative connect directly with our identity, Athleic Club is the only LaLiga teams that dedicates such a weekend to highlighting the importance of grassroots football and encouraging attendance at local grounds.
After two successful editions, Athletic Club has established a close relationship with this initiative, which reinforces the link between the entity and local football across the Basque Country.
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