Muniain & Lekue visit inmates at Bizkaia Prison

Around 30 inmates at Bizkaia Prison who play Walking Football on Tuesdays with Athletic Club Foundation coaches received a special visit from Iker Muniain and Iñigo Lekue.

The meeting is part of the project that AC Foundation runs together with the Basque Government and the social charity Bidesari.

For nearly an hour, the inmates interacted with the players, asking them about training sessions, different competitions, their personal experiences as elite footballers and, of course, about Athletic's current good form.

Muniain and Lekue spoke to them about their day-to-day lives, highlighting the importance of teamwork and drawing parallels between football and life: never giving up and knowing that every day is a new match.

Johana Ruiz-Olabuenaga, director of Athletic's Community Department, joined the players for the visit. The Basque Government was represented by Nerea Melgosa, minister for equality, justice and social policies, together with Vicenta Alonso, director of the centre, and Javier Landeta, in his dual role as president of the Basque Football Federation and minister of digital justice and infrastructure.

Prior to the footballers' talk, Ruiz-Olabuenaga highlighted the value of "sport and, more specifically, football, as a social and therapeutic resource".

She added: "It's a tool that Athletic Club, together with Fundazioa, uses to collaborate and contribute its bit to organisations such as Bidesari. Group sport helps to combat loneliness and promotes very positive values for personal recovery and social inclusion."

Nerea Melgosa thanked the players and the Athletic Club Foundation for their participation in an event which bolsters a sports and personal development programme designed for people in detention.

"Second chances exist and you can have yours. Listen to what these people tell you. Every day they work on improving their physical strength and mental strength," said Nerea Melgosa to the inmates in attendance.

The politician praised the daily work carried out in correctional facilities, drawing parallels with sports training.

She said:  Every day here we train for self-improvement. Every training session, every activity and every workshop is designed with this objective in mind.

"We know that when you go back outside, you may come up against different adversities. But that is when you have to apply what you have learnt in training. That's what you've worked hard and trained for - to beat them and score a goal in the top corner."

Melgosa said goodbye by wishing the interns "a 2024 full of opportunities", saying: "You can count on our help, the rest is in your hands."