Bilbao will be the capital of European rugby next year with the celebration of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals.
Born in England in the 19th century, rugby is a sport that has been gaining followers in our country in recent years. Very similar to other disciplines such as Gaelic soccer or American soccer, from whose defensive strategy have derived models of analysis in other sports, rugby is a sport based on physical contact but in which honor and respect for the opponent prevail above all. It is precisely because of these values that new athletes are increasingly opting for this discipline, with the number of teams playing at a professional level increasing considerably in recent decades.
This passion for the quintessential British sport has earned Bilbao to be chosen to host next May the final of the two most important European competitions of this sport: the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup. This has been possible thanks to the great work that has been done from the Rugby Federation, the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) and different bodies of the Basque public administration such as the City Council of Bilbao and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. In addition, the Basque capital’s candidacy also had the support of other sports sectors such as the Spanish Football Federation, LaLiga and the Atheltic Club. The involvement of the world of soccer in this bid would be explained by two main reasons, the first is to place the Basque Country on the map of European and international sport as venues for major sporting events in different disciplines. The second has to do with the fact that the two matches will take place at the Atheltic Club’s stadium, San Mames, where 53,289 rugby fans from all over the world will gather, if the stadium is full.
The city of Bilbao emerged as the winner in a competition in which many of the candidates belonged to geographical locations where rugby is positioned as a major sport. In fact, Bilbao beat Cardiff and Newcastle, with the latter winning the bid to host these two finals next season, in 2019. Thus, the Basque capital will become the first host of these two competitions outside the European territories in which this sport has greater importance. And it seems that the first impressions before this choice are clearly positive and is that the secretary of the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), Simon Halliday, has stated that the city of Bilbao is an excellent setting in which to expand the tournaments of this sport with the aim of increasing its practice on the continent. In addition, he also pointed out that the final of the Top 14, played in Barcelona at the Camp Nou last year, is a great example of the atmosphere that is to be achieved.
Both finals will be held in the month of May with one day of difference between them. The Challenge Cup final will take place on May 11, while the following day, May 12, the Champions Cup final will be played. Tickets have already gone on sale for both events, with prices ranging from 20 to 95 euros depending on the seats. Of the more than 50,000 tickets available, more than 16,000 have already been sold, a large percentage of them for the Champions Cup final. These figures may seem insignificant, but it must be taken into account that there is almost a year to go until both finals are played. These figures will undoubtedly increase as the date of the matches approaches and will be very good news for the Basque Country as we cannot forget that this type of sporting event has a great impact on the tourism sector. Only last year in Lyon, the French city that hosted the 2016 finals, collected more than 20 million euros, so it is expected that the disbursement of rugby fans who travel to Bilbao will be equal or higher. Undoubtedly, many will take advantage of the days leading up to that weekend to get to know a little more in depth all the charms that our community has to offer, from the towns closest to Bilbao, to the scenes of the seventh season of the popular series Game of Thrones that are so fashionable nowadays.
Rugby will give Bilbao and the entire Basque Country the opportunity to demonstrate the value of its land, offering an unbeatable sporting space in which to carry out these renowned competitions as well as an enviable natural and heritage environment.
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