Athletic EFT: The First Lionesses

Athletic EFT: The First Lionesses

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Athletic Club Women's first match

Last Sunday, Lezama paid tribute to the pioneers of Athletic Club Women. It was a journey back in time to October 6 2002, the day when eleven women played in the red and white of Athletic for the first time.

In those days, the famous arch still towered over San Mamés, Lezama academy had a very different look and few people could have imagined the triumphs those first Lionesses would have.

In his electoral campaign, the late president Javier Uría proposed the creation of a women's team for the Club. Ultimately, the architects of this project were two illustrious former Lions, Andoni Zubizarreta and Ernesto Valverde, both then working behind the scenes at Lezama.

Valverde took it upon himself to learn all he could about women's football in Bizkaia, coming to the conclusion Athletic should integrate Leioa EFT, a side then competing in the second division and very close to winning promotion to the top flight, then called the "Superliga".

"We felt the best option was to take over or incorporate a side competing at a high level," Valverde said. "There was a team that stood out in Leioa."

Valverde called Iñigo Juaristi, then head coach at Leioa, to discuss Athletic's plan. "If we get promoted, next year we will be Athletic players," Iñigo told his squad days before a decisive match against CD Rayco of the Canary Islands. Leioa completely dominated the clash and the dream became a reality.

Just a few months after that memorable encounter, Iñigo Juaristi and his players arrived at Lezama, becoming Athletic Club EFT, that initial name chosen by none of than José Ángel Iribar.

Proud Pioneers

And so Athletic Club Women was born. Female footballers have since donned the red-and-white jersey at grounds all over Spain and Europe, becoming another shining and successful example of Athletic Club's unique philosophy.

Expectations were high and the Lionesses attracted thousands of people for their opening fixture in the 2002/03 Superliga. Athletic EFT got off to a flying start, defeating Torrejón 7-1 at Lezama.

Athletic initially went 0-1 down, but Juaristi never had any doubts the Lionesses would overcome their nerves. "Even though they almost made it 0-2, we were playing well. In the dugout we remained calm, we'd had a lot of chances and missed. But it was just a question of opening the can," he said after the match,

Juaristi's side went on to become champions that season, pipping Levante to the title - thanks to a better head-to-head record - despite finishing on 55 points each.

The celebration in front of 35,000 souls at the old Cathedral and everything else has entered the Club's history books. Since then we have had four more titles, more than 100 players making their debuts and an academy that feeds the first team, which is now coached by Iraia Iturregi, the youngest member of that initial pioneering group.

"It's now 20 years since that start. We also had some tough moments, perhaps we didn't have the means or the resources that today's players have," Iraia said. "But I wouldn't change for the world anything we experienced at that time. It was spectacular.

"It's an honour to see how women’s football has grown and to see how the efforts we made 20 years ago have been rewarded. And today we see that the majority of Athletic's players, both in the starting XI and on the bench, are all from the academy."

Twenty years have passed since those first steps were taken and Athletic Club can boast of having taken good care of its women's teams from the very beginning. "Everything was handled in a normal and healthy way," Valverde said. "It was the right decision."

He added: "To a certain extent, Athletic was a little bit of a catalyst for women’s football. I think the emergence of Athletic with the turnout at Lezama, with those matches at San Mamés, with the successes the Club has had, I think all this has led to the rest of the clubs joining in."

Those former players, who still meet every Friday to play football, received a warm reception from the packed stands at Lezama this past Sunday as Athletic Club took on Real Madrid.

It was a well-deserved ovation. After all, they were the first Athletic Club Women players, the first champions and the ones who paved the way for the girls who now dream of one day becoming Lionesses and roaring at San Mamés.