With the World Cup, the world is ablaze with soccer fever. With several premier teams, the Basque Country has a strong association with soccer. There are a number of Basque players participating in the World Cup as part of the national teams of Spain, Ghana, Mexico, and Japan – Euskal Kazeta has a nice writeup […]
We were recently in Boise to celebrate my daughter’s high school graduation with her grandparents (Zorionak Rose!) and while there stopped by the Cyrus Jacobs/Uberuaga house – if you’ve never been there, it provides a great look into a Basque boarding house. In any case, there was a small exhibit on bola jokoa, or the […]
Last week I wrote about the women Erraketistak, professional racket ball players that were pioneers in the world of women’s sport. One of the very best to ever play was Maria Antonia Uzkudun, also known as Txikita de Anoeta. She began playing professionally at the age of 13 and had a stellar career that took […]
While women have played sport for as long as humans have existed, it is only recently that that they have had the opportunity to play professionally, to make sport a career. In the early 1900s, women, primarily from the Basque Country, pioneered a professional league of racket ball that at one time dominated the professional […]
While Athletic Bilbao receives more international attention, primarily due to their unique policy of signing only Basque players, they are not the only team in the Basque Country – there are several. Yesterday, April 18, 2026, the soccer team from Donostia, Real Sociedad de Fútbol, won the Copa del Rey, their first win since 2000 and only their […]
I’ve said it before – for such a small place, Basques seem to outdo themselves, making an impact above and beyond what their small population might suggest. Case in point: Patxi Usobiaga. Patxi is a rock climber who reached the pinnacle of his sport, doing things no one had ever done before. Maybe growing up […]
While surfing originated in Polynesia and Hawaii, many Basques have distinguished themselves in the sport. Indeed, the Basque Country has some prime surfing spots, including the Bizkaian coastal town of Mundaka. Hugues Oyarzabal became one of the pioneers of the sport, surfing some of the biggest waves in the world while filming himself riding down the center of […]
The Olympics are nearly over. As I posted a few weeks ago, the Basque Country – including Euskadi, Iparralde, and Nafarroa – sent 43 athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris. How did they do? Some of the “big” names, like Chourraut and Rahm, didn’t do as well as hoped. However, including individual medals given […]
As in past years, there is a large contingent of athletes from Euskal Herria at the 2024 Olympic Games that just started in Paris – 43 in total. The vast majority, 33, are from the Basque Autonomous Community, while another 8 are from Nafarroa and 2 more come from Iparralde. This is the second most […]
On Saturday, April 6, 2024, after 40 years which saw the team make it to the finals 6 times – 3 in the last 10 years – only to lose, Athletic Club of Bilbao was once again on top of the Spanish soccer world, winning the Copa del Rey final against Mallorca. With a slogan […]
