Football shirt honouring Basque refugee children cements historic bond between Wales and Bilbao

A commemorative football shirt marking a remarkable act of wartime solidarity has been formally presented to Athletic Club Bilbao by Wales’ First Minister.

During a visit to Bilbao, the largest city in Spain’s Basque Country, Eluned Morgan handed over Newport County’s special edition red-and-white striped kit – produced by VX3 x Lover’s F.C for the 2025–26 season in the colours famously worn by Athletic Club.

The shirt honours the 56 Basque children who fled the Spanish Civil War in 1937 and were taken in by communities in Caerleon.

The youngsters arrived in Wales after the bombing of Guernica and other Basque towns, as part of the mass evacuation of children from the conflict.

Locals helped care for the group, including Maria Fernandez, a Bilbao-born resident who played a major role in supporting the refugees.

The new Newport County shirt references that history directly: it carries the names of the children and the adults who cared for them, along with the inscription: “In 1937, when the Basque people needed help, Wales responded.”

Football proved central to the children’s experience in Wales. A team known as Basque Boys FC formed during their stay and played matches across south Wales. Several members went on to forge careers as professional footballers on their return to Spain.

The presentation ceremony comes a day after the Welsh and Basque governments signed a fresh Memorandum of Understanding, strengthening political, cultural and economic collaboration between the two nations.

Speaking in Bilbao, Eluned Morgan said the two football clubs were helping to keep a powerful story alive.

“Football has a special way of bringing people together,” she said. “The shirt reminds us of the values Wales and the Basque Country share. The generosity shown by the Newport community nearly a century ago continues to resonate today.”

‘Historical ties’

Newport County creative director Neal Heard, who helped develop the concept for the kit, said it symbolised more than just sporting links.

“We wanted to celebrate the deep historical ties between the two nations,” he said. “Seeing the First Minister hand deliver the shirt is a fitting completion of that story. We hope this is only the beginning of cementing relations between both clubs and both countries.”