Since 2017, the SD Eibar Foundation has been continuously promoting its Basque Language Plan, a strategic project aimed at the promotion, standardisation and use of the Basque language in the sporting, educational and institutional spheres. This work is carried out through the club’s Basque language committee and involves the Foundation’s active participation in local strategic forums where policies to promote the language across the region are coordinated.
The Plan is coordinated by the specialist consultancy firm Emun, which supports, analyses and drives its management season by season, ensuring the consistency, development and continuous improvement of all the initiatives undertaken.
Basque at the heart of the project: Euskararen Baloia
One of the plan’s most notable initiatives is Euskararen Baloia, an educational project which, since 2019, has been promoting the use of Basque in schools across the region, linking it to a symbolic story: a magical ball found during the construction of the new Ipurua stadium.
The third edition of the competition took place during the 2025–2026 academic year, with 11 schools from Eibar, Ermua and Elgoibar taking part, involving around 500 children in Year 3 of primary school. Through this initiative, the pupils have developed creative projects, mainly in video format, which have become increasingly elaborate and original, reinforcing the use of Basque in a natural and participatory way.
The winning schools in this year’s competition were Urkizu and Arrateko Andra Mari in Eibar. As a prize, the participants had the opportunity to travel on the first-team coach alongside Pantxika to the new training ground, where they spent the day with the players of SD Eibar. There, they were presented with an ‘Euskararen Baloia’ football as a memento of the experience.
Tools for using Basque in football
During the 2024–2025 season, the Basque Language Commission compiled a dictionary of technical football terms in Basque, with the aim of facilitating the use of the language in the sporting arena and strengthening its presence in the club’s day-to-day activities. This material was handed out to fans who attended matches at Ipurua and is currently being distributed to schoolchildren visiting the grounds, as an educational and language-promotion tool.
Commitment to and promotion of the Basque language
Over the years, SD Eibar has taken part in numerous forums, conferences and meetings relating to the promotion of the Basque language, sharing its working model and its commitment to the language.
Thanks to the implementation of the plan and the initiatives launched, the club has also received support from the Basque Government through its programmes to promote the Basque language, thereby strengthening its position as an active player in linguistic normalisation.
The Basque Language Plan is thus established as a key tool within the club’s social strategy, integrating the language as an essential element of identity, education and social cohesion.
