BILBAO, SPAIN, October 5, 2025 (WAFA) – Spanish football club Athletic Bilbao organized a solidarity event with the Palestinian people on Saturday evening at its San Mamés stadium ahead of its La Liga match against Real Mallorca.
The event was attended by Palestinians, including former Palestine women’s national team captain Honey Thaljieh, as well as representatives from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Basque region.
Fans displayed the Palestinian flag and held a large banner on the stadium’s screens that called for a free Palestine and an end to genocide. The stadium lights were also illuminated with the Palestinian flag.
The initiative is part of a joint project between Athletic Bilbao Foundation and UNRWA in the Basque Country, which provides physical education lessons to around 8,000 Palestinian refugee children in Syria through 16 teachers appointed in UNRWA-run schools.
The club described the event as an extension of its commitment to social responsibility, using sport as a platform to express solidarity with humanitarian causes, particularly amid the ongoing tragedy in Gaza.
The gesture comes months after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Spain’s recognition of the State of Palestine in late May, a move that marked the culmination of decades of Madrid’s support for Palestinian rights and freedom from Israeli occupation.
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