New kits 19/20: Upon This Ground

Athletic Club presents today the new New Balance kits for next season 2019-20.

The design of the first jersey stands out for the thickness of the red-and-white stripes and for the originality of the collar and sleeves, which incorporate a black interior with a white finish. The central stripe is red and merges in the upper part of the garment with the shoulders, making the red color predominant in the overall. The dorsals and names are white. The uniform is completed with classic black trousers and half black half red socks.

The second kit and the campaign slogan, Upon This Ground, are powerfully and creatively inspired by the philosophy of Athletic Club. Each detail has an explanation and responds to a narrative developed jointly by the Club and New Balance. As Kenny McCallum, General Manager of the American brand, says: “Athletic is a special club for its unique and independent way of competing, and we wanted the jerseys to reflect and celebrate that uniqueness.” This second two-tone forest green jersey stands out because of the projection of the rays of an ikurriña born from a golden shield, with red caps on the sleeves and on the round neck.

References to the ikurriña are part of the origin of the entire campaign, summarised in the motto “Upon This Ground“, which refers to two intermixed meanings.

The first, Uppon This Ground, refers to the Club’s direct connection with the Basque territory. From this link also comes the creation of a new flag that departs from the original design of the ikurriña to transform itself, through a change of the arrangement of colours, into a tribute to that historic connection between the Athletic and the land it represents. The small real ikurriña on the back of the jersey is now joined by this variation that specifically vindicates our philosophy. Raise the flag, Astindu flag, Ondea la bandera, definitively, make this flag that represents a unique way of competing known in the world.

The second meaning, On This Basis, with these foundations, refers to the philosophy. Whatever the future holds for us, it will be on this basis of consensus that our philosophy represents.

Undoubtedly, the ideal scenario, unbeatable, which symbolizes these allusions to territory, tradition,  roots, unity and consensus, is Gernika, and specifically, the Tree of Gernika. That is why part of the campaign is situated there, where we intentionally brought together Iñaki Williams and Damaris Egurrola, the fusion between the historical past and the future that these two footballers represent, not only without renouncing to the essence of an identity, but also vindicating it.

Finally, one of the echoes of the motto Upon This Ground reached as far as the legendary swearing of the Lehendakari Agirre, pronounced the 7th of October of 1936 under the old Gernika oak. Who was also a footballer of Athletic Club for five seasons, from 1921 to 1926, spoke thus in his oath: Euzko-lur ganian zutunik; De pie sobre tierra vasca; Upon this basque-ground (land).