Football fever in our Spanish school

Today, the footy-mad Instituto Hemingway students are planning a visit to the famous San Mamés football stadium, home to Athletic Club Bilbao.

An interesting fact about Athletic is that it is unique in its proud tradition of selecting only players of Basque origin. The club also places much emphasis on the training of young Basque players, and the Athletic youth teams have indeed been the birthplace of many footballing legends. Together with Real Madrid and Barcelona, Athletic is one of only three Spanish teams never to have been relegated from La Liga (the Spanish premiership).

As well as the stadium, the students will be able to explore the club museum and find out about the history of the club. There, they will be able to see the various presents which the club had received on important anniveraries, their trophy collection and many other interesting artifacts.
They are especially excited about the prospect of exploring the players’ tunnel!

Today’s visit is particularly special because it is the eve of the big game: Athletic will play Manchester United in the second round of the UEFA quarter final. The atmosphere in the city is electric, and tickets sold out in just one day!

Tomorrow (Thursday 15th), the Hemingway students will meet up again to watch the match together on a big screen in a local bar. Come on, join in! Aupa Athletic!