La Liga football team arrive in Gibraltar en route to La Linea

IT is not often that residents of Gibraltar and La Linea have the chance to see a first division team playing locally, but this was the case when Atletico Bilbao chartered their own aircraft to bring them from Bilbao to La Linea via Gibraltar on December 3.

The match, which was a Copa Del Rey tie, saw the visitors beat the home team by two goals to nil which considering the differences in their divisions was not a bad score.

The team from Bilbao, which is almost unique in world soccer by only signing players from the local vicinity (the Basque area of France and Spain), flew in on the morning of the match, stayed overnight in Spain and then were due to fly back the following day.

A number of fans were at the airport to greet the team and get photos whilst minister Steven Linares, was at the runway to welcome the Bilbao players and officials to Gibraltar for what was clearly a significant arrival.