The unusual case of the Catalan club that plays in France (and could play in the Caribbean or Africa)

BarcelonaIn an incomparable natural setting, on the banks of the Garonne River and overlooking the green forested mountains where zinc was once mined and where brown bones now live, one of the most unique teams in Catalan football plays: Union Esportiva Bossòst. "We are the most international club in Spain," proclaims its president, Miguel Almansa, who is also the Bossòst pharmacist. a town in the Aran Valley, in the terçó de Quate Lòcs, with just over a thousand inhabitants. This small Aranese municipality is located in the northwest of Catalonia, but its life has been focused on France, in the Occitania region, rather than Lleida, of which it is a part of the province.

UE Bossòst is a reflection of this historical trend: since its inception in the 1920s, the club has been affiliated with the French Football Federation (FFF). This was the decision of its founder, Manuel Huguet, secretary and accountant at one of the town's mines, conditioned by the valley's topography and climate. "One hundred years ago, the Vielha tunnel did not exist and the Bonaigua pass was closed for several months. In winter, when it snowed, it was impossible to reach Catalonia in any way, and Bossòst's only social and commercial relationship was with France. That's why we federated," he explains to ARA Almansa, which since Derry City Northern Ireland, Welsh Swansea, or Monaco, play outside their home country. It's a unique case in Spain. "We haven't considered changing it. For travel, it's much closer to France. In Catalonia, we would play in Lleida, which is two and a half hours away, while traveling to Toulouse takes one and a half," he argues.

The geography of Bossòst also determines the identity and language of its inhabitants, who speak Catalan, Spanish, and Aranese, which is compulsory in school and co-official in Catalonia. "We are Catalan and Occitan. There's a lot of Occitan sentiment here," says Almansa, who a few years ago managed to get the national team of this region, which organized the first tournament in 2006. World Cup of national teams without a country, will play the town's main festival match. Currently, the Union Esportiva Bossòst (its official name is in Aranese) competes in the third departmental league of Haute-Garonne, equivalent to a Catalan Third Division, one of the lowest levels of French football. It is a completely amateur team: the players are unpaid, the directors are responsible for cutting the grass and painting the lines on the natural grass pitch, and the club is funded by subsidies, the lottery, and its membership fees of 32 euros. However, this weekend marks its debut in the prestigious Coupe de France. The last champion was PSG, who also lifted the Champions League a few months ago.

From the Western Pyrenees to the Caribbean?

The Coupe de France is a competition contested by all clubs affiliated with the FFF, however small, and also by the best teams from the French overseas territories: New Caledonia and French Polynesia (Oceania), Reunion Island and Mayotte (Africa), and French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint-Martin (America). It is therefore a tournament played on four different continents and pairs the most exotic clubs with teams from the metropolis, generally non-professional. "It's a utopia, but if we do very, very well, we could play in the Caribbean or Tahiti," Almansa laughs. To qualify, Bossòst, which has never advanced past the third round, would have to overcome several regional qualifiers and have a lot of luck in the draw.

This year, he makes his debut at Cabo Jeunes 31 in Toulouse, a league above them. "It bothers us that the game is being played on Sunday afternoon because we're from a tourist town, dedicated to the hospitality and retail industry (especially tobacco and alcohol), and many of our players work in restaurants," laments Almansa, who played for the Verdiblancos from the age of 16 to 42. He has spent more than half his life with Bossòst, a club deeply rooted in the municipality and promoting it wherever he plays. "With the disappearance of Les and Vielha, we're the only active Aranese team. When you talk about football in Aran, everyone thinks of us. And in the south of France, Bossòst is known for its supermarkets and its team," claims the president of Catalonia's most international football club.