The first vice president, Ibone Bengoetxea, stated that “today is a historic day for Basque pelota in particular, for Basque sport in general and for Euskadi, as it will allow our pelota players to defend the Euskadi jersey in the official competitions. This assessment was made once it was known that the International Pelota Federation had approved this Saturday the entry of the Basque Pelota Federation.
In a statement collected by Europa Press, Ibone Bengoetxea also highlighted as an “important” step that in the same assembly a modification of the statutes was agreed upon through which Basque will be an official working language along with English. , French and Spanish. These decisions, according to the vice president, “connect with a very important demand of a majority of Basque society, which as a Government we have included in our program, which is to accompany the officials of the Basque teams that wish to do so.” Thus, he pointed out that the Basque Government is at the disposal of the Euskadi Pelota Federation to accompany it “in this new and exciting stage that is opening”, as well as the rest of the Basque sports federations on their path to official status.
The Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, has described as “great news for pelota, Basque sport and Basque” that the International Pelota Federation has approved this Saturday the entry of the Basque Pelota Federation into this body, and has stated that Its executive will continue to support the Basque sports federations on their path to official status. Through several messages on social media, Pradales has highlighted that “Basque pelota is a sport that was born here and has spread to the world, and for our team to be able to compete officially is a dream come true.” “Imagining the Basque team competing in the 2026 World Cup in Argentina or the 2030 World Cup in Euskadi is exciting,” he added.
In his opinion, this official status is one more “step to recognize our nation.” “This is an important step for the international projection of our country and to conquer new spaces for our language and culture, since Basque will be the official language of the international baseball championships,” he stressed. “We continue to move forward and we dream that all Basques can compete with our national team in all sports,” he concluded.
EH Bildu has also reacted to the news, which it has valued as “one more step in the recognition of Basque citizenship”, and has called for work so that, “in all sports and fields”, it is possible to compete with teams that recognize “to all of Euskal Herria.” In a statement, issued jointly with EH Bai, the team said it viewed “with optimism” the news of the recognition by the International Basque Pelota Federation of the Euskadi Pelota Federation.
The pro-independence coalition has indicated that this is “a step forward in the direction of recognition and respect for the nationality of Basque citizens.” However, he has also called on citizens and institutions to “continue working on the path of officialdom in all areas.” Likewise, he recalled that his objective is to achieve Basque sports teams “that encompass the entire Euskal Herria.”
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