Athletic Club - also referred to as Athletic, Athletic Bilbao, or Athletic Club de Bilbao - is a professional football team based in Bilbao in Spain's Basque Country. As the club's stadium was built close to a church called San Mamés (named after Saint Mammes, an early Christian who was thrown to the lions by the Romans) they are known as Los Leones (The Lions). The San Mamés Stadium is where the team plays its home games.
Established in 1898, the club was one of 3 founding members of the Primera División (now known as La Liga) - along with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid - that have not been relegated since the league began in 1929. The club uses a cantera strategy, which involves recruiting players from other Basque clubs and bringing young Basque players through the ranks. The official policy is to sign football players who were born in or trained in the greater Basque Country and, since 1912, Athletic has only played with players who met these criteria.
