Basque Football Federation


The Basque Football Federation is the body responsible for managing association football in the Basque Country autonomous region. Its offices are in the Txurdinaga neighbourhood of Bilbao.
The federation manages several leagues such as the Basque Youth League and the Basque Women's Football League, as well as the Basque regional stage of the Federation Cup. It also organises Group 4 of the regionalised Tercera División, although unlike most parts of the country, the leagues at the fifth level and below are administered separately by provincial federations for Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa.
The federation organises and selects the Basque Country national football team which draws its players not only from the Basque Country autonomous region, but also the neighbouring Basque regions of Navarre and the French Basque Country. The women's senior national team also follows this model, but the various youth representative squads contesting :es:Campeonato de España de selecciones autonómicas de fútbol|nationwide competitions, and the Basque amateur-level selection playing in the Spanish stage of the UEFA Regions' Cup, are composed of players only from the Basque Country autonomous region.
The Basque Football Federation is part of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

History

In the early 20th century, football federations were formed for each of the Basque regions of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, with each holding their own tournaments. As long ago as 1931 the idea of creating a single federation for the whole Basque Country was considered, but for various reasons this was not done at that time. In 1988 the Basque Football Federacion was finally created, encompassing the original provincial federations as well as a new one for Álava, each of which continues to organise football competitions within their area.

Purpose

The Basque Football Federation's purpose is to promote, organise and authorise association football competition across the Basque Country autonomous region.
In addition to this, it selects and arranges fixtures for the Basque Country national football team l, for which it aims to gain UEFA and FIFA affiliation so that it can participate in regular international competitions.

FIFA affiliation

The Basque Football Federation has as one of its aims the official participation of the Basque Country national team in international competitions.
In 1979 Pablo Porta, president of the Spanish Football Federation, stated that the Basque Country might participate in the next World Cup; he explained that in the same way that Welsh clubs participate in the English league but are also represented by the Welsh national team, so the same model could be used in Spain. However this idea has not been implemented.
In 2010 the Basque Football Federation changed its statutes to claim responsibility for international competitions in the greater Basque Country, but the Supreme Court of Spain suspended these new statutes.
In 2012 it was decided by the Constitutional Court of Spain that the Basque Country could compete in international competitions so long as it did not compete against Spain.
In early 2019, the Federation voted in favour of applying to FIFA and UEFA for official recognition for the team.

Competitions

The Basque Football Federation organises the following competitions:
These tables provide the winners of the competitions administered by the Basque Football Federation each season.

Tercera División

Winners of the Basque Country fourth tier group, with possible promotion to the level above and an entry to the following season's Copa del Rey.
SeasonWinning Club
1980–81SD Erandio ClubBiscay55Yes7th1st round
1981–82SD EibarGipuzkoa51NoN/A3rd round
1982–83SCD DurangoBiscay55NoN/A1st round
1983–84CD SanturtziBiscay59NoN/A2nd Round
1984–85CD BasconiaBiscay56NoN/A2nd Round
1985–86SD Eibar Gipuzkoa58Yes7thRound of 16
1986–87SCD Durango Biscay51Yes8th1st round
1987–88Barakaldo CFBiscay53Yes2ndDid not enter
1988–89CD Santurtzi Biscay55Yes12thDid not enter
1989–90Deportivo AlavésÁlava60Yes2nd2nd round
1990–91:es:Club Deportivo Hernani|CD HernaniGipuzkoa50Yes14th2nd round
1991–92Real UnionGipuzkoa53NoN/A2nd Round
1992–93Real Union Gipuzkoa54Yes14th2nd round
1993–94Amurrio ClubÁlava53Yes11thDid not enter
1994–95CD Aurrerá de VitoriaÁlava55Yes9th1st round
1995–96Zalla UCBiscay78Yes19th 2nd round
1996–97:es:Touring Kirol Elkartea|CD TouringGipuzkoa72NoN/ADid not enter
1997–98CD Basconia Biscay71NoN/AN/A
1998–99Real Sociedad BGipuzkoa89NoN/AN/A
1999–2000Real Sociedad B Gipuzkoa82NoN/AN/A
2000–01SD LemonaBiscay92NoN/ARound of 64
2001–02SD Lemona Biscay78NoN/ARound of 64
2002–03CD Basconia Biscay71NoN/AN/A
2003–04Sestao River ClubBiscay78Yes19th First round
2004–05Club PortugaleteBiscay83Yes19th Second round
2005–06Sestao River Club Biscay90Yes5thFirst round
2006–07Zalla UCBiscay76NoN/AFirst round
2007–08Club Portugalete Biscay69NoN/ARound of 32
2008–09CD Lagun OnakGipuzkoa73NoN/AThird round
2009–10Real Sociedad B Gipuzkoa75Yes11thN/A
2010–11SD AmorebietaBiscay81Yes4thFirst round
2011–12CD LaudioÁlava77NoN/AFirst round
2012–13CD LaudioÁlava81Yes17th Third round
2013–14SD LeioaBiscay81Yes15thThird round
2014–15Club Portugalete Biscay75Yes19th First round
2015–16Zamudio SDBiscay74Yes20th First round
2016–17Deportivo Alavés BÁlava74NoN/AN/A
2017–18SCD Durango Biscay77YesTBUFirst round

Women

Liga Vasca Femenina

The Liga Vasca was introduced in the 2012–13 season as a stage between the provincial leagues and the Segunda División, which is also divided into geographical groups. The table also shows the winner of the promotion playoff between the Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay leagues in the seasons prior to the introduction of the all-Basque league.
SeasonWinning Club
2007–08CD Aurrerá de VitoriaÁlavaN/A4th
2008–09:eu:Abanto Club#Emakumezkoak|Abanto ClubBiscayN/A7th
2009–10:eu:Berriotxoa Kirol Elkartea|CF Berrio-OtxoaBiscayN/A10th
2010–11:eu:Pauldarrak FKT|Pauldarrak FKTBiscayN/A8th
2011–12Zarautz KEGipuzkoaN/A14th
2012–13Barakaldo CFBiscay6912th
2013–14:eu:Mariño Kirol Kluba|CD Mariño KKGipuzkoa628th
2014–15SD EibarGipuzkoa624th
2015–16CD Gasteizko NeskakÁlava798th
2016–17Zarautz KEGipuzkoa7113th
2017–18:eu:Bizkerre Futbol Taldea|Bizkerre FTBiscay817th
2018–19Tolosa CFGipuzkoa71.

Copa Vasca Femenina

The Copa Vasca has been held since the 1980s. In its current incarnation, it is usually disputed between clubs from the region who are not in the Primera División; the senior team of Athletic Bilbao have never taken part since their formation in 2002, although their B-team has featured in several finals.
The Copa Vasca should not be confused with the Copa Euskal Herria, operated by a different organisation, which does include top division clubs – all of the finals of that competition have featured Athletic Club and Real Sociedad.
SeasonWinnersRunners-up
1995–96 GipuzkoaEibartarrak FT–CD Sondika
1996–97 –
1997–98 –
1998–99 BiscayCD Sondika–
1999–2000 GipuzkoaOiartzun KE–Eibartarrak FT
2000–01 –
2001–02 GipuzkoaEibartarrak FT–Añorga KKE
2002–03 –
2003–04 BiscayAthletic Club B0–0:eu:Mariño Kirol Kluba|CD Mariño KK
2004–05 BiscayAthletic Club B2–2Añorga KKE
2005–06 GipuzkoaSD Eibar–Añorga KKE
2006–07 GipuzkoaReal Sociedad–SD Eibar
2007–08 Biscay:eu:San Ignacio Kirol Elkartea |SD San Ignacio1–1Oiartzun KE
2008–09 ÁlavaCD Aurrerá de Vitoria2–1Athletic Club B
2009–10 ÁlavaCD Aurrerá de Vitoria3–0:eu:Abanto Club#Emakumezkoak|Abanto Club
2010–11 BiscayAthletic Club B2–0SD Eibar
2011–12 GipuzkoaAñorga KKE2–1Athletic Club B
2012–13 GipuzkoaOiartzun KE3–2Real Sociedad
2013–14 Biscay:eu:Pauldarrak FKT|Pauldarrak FKT1–0Añorga KKE
2014–15 BiscayAthletic Club B2–0Añorga KKE
2015–16 GipuzkoaAñorga KKE1–1SD Eibar
2016–17 Biscay:eu:Pauldarrak FKT|Pauldarrak FKT1–0Athletic Club B
2017–18 BiscayAthletic Club B4–2Añorga KKE
2018–19 BiscayAthletic Club B3–0CD Aurrerá de Vitoria

Notable clubs affiliated to BFF

La Liga
Segunda División B
Primera División
Primera División B
Laurentzi Gana Gorozika
Iñaki Dobaran Garetxana
Santiago Arostegi Oleagordia
Luis Maria Elustondo Ciarreta