This Saturday, 26 September, the Gobela pitch in Getxo will host the first edition of the PBN Kirolur Urban-Field Cup, a tournament bringing together 12 clubs from Bizkaia that will highlight the work carried out over the last four years by the Pasa Baloia Neska (PBN) project to promote grassroots girls’ football.

The event forms part of PBN Kirolur Week, an initiative that aims to highlight throughout the week the growth and consolidation of a project launched in 2022 with the backing of the Bizkaia Provincial Council, Athletic Club and the Bizkaia Football Federation, and with Kimet supporting and developing the project. Since its launch, the main objective has been to strengthen women’s football in Bizkaia from the grassroots up, encourage participation and raise the profile of the people and organisations involved in this network.

The tournament will feature 12 clubs divided into four groups, competing collectively across three age categories: Benjamín (under-10), Alevín (under-12) and Infantil (under-14). Each club’s overall result will depend on the performance of its three categories, thereby reinforcing the collective nature of the competition.

The under-10s will play in a 3-a-side format, the under-12s in 5-a-side football and the under-14s in 9-a-side football. In addition, each club will field two under-10 teams. To this end, the Gobela pitch will be divided into four pitches.

The competition will kick off at 9:00 with the group stage, which will run until 13:00. After the lunch break, matches will resume at 15:00 and the day will conclude at around 18:30 with the prize-giving ceremony. Matches will last 18 minutes and, in addition to the match result, the organisers will award a separate score based on values and respect in football.

The participating teams have been drawn as follows:

• Group 1: Bilbao Arizarrak, Ugeraga and Enkarterri.
• Group 2: Pauldarrak, La Salle and Arratia.
• Group 3: Bizkerre, Berriotxoa and Peña Athletic Santurtzi.
• Group 4: Betiko, Portugalete and Gertasport.

The top-placed teams from each group and category will progress to the semi-finals.

Four years of growth

The presentation of PBN Kirolur Week and the tournament was held on Tuesday at the TikiToki centre in Fadura, Getxo, attended by representatives of the institutions and organisations involved in the project. Among them were the Provincial Deputy of Basque Language, Culture and Sports, Leixuri Arrizabalaga; the president of Athletic Club’s women’s team, Nerea Ortiz; Getxo’s Councillor for Sport, Álvaro González; the head of Kimet, Gari Fullaondo; and representatives of the Bizkaia Football Federation, including José Luis Tormo and Eder Pérez.

The General Secretary of the Bizkaia Football Federation highlighted in particular the development of women’s football in Bizkaia since the launch of Pasa Baloia Neska. In four years, the project has contributed to an increase in the number of clubs from around 50 to 100 this season, while Bizkaia is now approaching 4,000 registered female players.

Arrizabalaga, meanwhile, highlighted the consolidation of the project and the growth it has experienced since its launch. The Provincial Deputy said that the figures show that women and girls are playing an increasingly prominent role in football in Bizkaia and that the game is becoming more diverse and inclusive. She also highlighted one of the main objectives of Pasa Baloia Neska: to ensure that no girl feels that football is not for her and that every girl has the opportunity to play, grow, enjoy the game and develop their sporting journey within football.

Saturday’s event will also have a special institutional dimension, as the ceremonial kick-off will be taken by the General Deputy of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe.