Gazteak CF
is an amateur football club who were formed in 1973 and is based in Santurtzi,
a few miles west of Bilbao in Spain’s Basque region, playing at San Pedro de
Kabiezes, which was originally a sand pitch.
The club
started their first few seasons in existence playing lower-level local football, such as the Territorial Tercera and then the eighth-level Territorial Segunda, before eventually reaching Territorial Primera in 1979.
Gazteak were
demoted in 1980-81, but regained their place at the seventh tier after the 1982-83 campaign. Another relegation back to Territorial
Segunda was suffered in 1984-85, but the club bounced straight back at the
first attempt.
Gazteak
remained at that level until 1990, when they dropped out of senior football for
a couple of years before beginning the slow climb back through the divisions
before reaching Territorial Primera once again in time for the 2003-04
campaign.
The club
went down another level just one year later, before climbing back in 2005-06
with a promotion campaign. This time, Gazteak’s spell in the seventh level
lasted two seasons. Another promotion followed in 2009-10.
The club
remained in the Territorial Primera for three seasons before being relegated
once again. Promotion was won again in 2013-14 as Gazteak were placed in Grupo
I of the Primera.
Gazteak
consolidated on their return and continued to build as a club following the
conversion of their playing pitch from grass to an artificial surface to allow
the continual development of their youth sides. Indeed, when Gazteak is translated into English, their name is Young People.
The team continued to put in mid-table finishes in the league, with sixth place in 2021-22 as Bastian Lopez continued to score the goals for the side managed by Javier Tabernilla. The team was relegated at the end of the 2023-24 season under the stewardship of Jose Garcia.
Mikel Puyuelo led the scoring for Gazteak in 2024-25 as the side finished tenth in Grupo I of the ninth-tier Territorial Segunda under manager Jose Muñoz.
Gazteak CF
will play in the Territorial Segunda de Vizcaya Grupo I in the 2025-26 season.
My visit
Friday 24th February 2017
It was the
first day of my long weekend around Bilbao, and after visits to the homes of
Barakaldo CF, Sestao River Club and Club Portugalete, I continued through land
being developed and new housing from La Florida along Doctor José Zaldua Kalea.
The walk was
doing me good in the hills above the district and looking down towards the River
Nervión. A further walk along Los Hoyos Kalea took me to the ground, where I
was in for a bit of a shock.
My research
had me prepared to encounter the San Pedro de Kabiezes, home of Gaztiek, but I
didn’t know that another club, Peña Athletic Santurtzi, had their venue
alongside. The ground itself was pretty basic with hard open standing surrounding
the pitch. A high wire fence enclosed the arena, which was open aside from a
small cover on the sports centre side.
Once I’d
taken my photos of both grounds, I put in some more mileage walking to the ground of CD
Santurtzi to complete a fantastic Friday afternoon.