Athletic Bilbao’s first ever black captain Iñaki Williams has expressed pride at representing immigrants in Spain and called out the far right, after rare anti-migrant unrest shocked the country.
Williams, 31, and his younger brother Nico are stars of the club which traditionally only fields players born or brought up in the Basque Country that straddles northern Spain and southwestern France.
Bilbao-born Williams has spoken of how his Ghanaian parents crossed the Sahara on foot en route to Spain, with his mother clambering over the perilous border fence separating the Spanish exclave of Melilla from Morocco while pregnant with him.
Asked about becoming the club’s first black captain after the retirement of Oscar de Marcos and amid rising support for the far right, the Ghana striker told a press conference “it means a lot”.
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“Destiny is destiny. If it were not for my parents, I would not be here, nor Nico,” he said.
“We are lucky to be able to represent many people who come from outside to earn their daily bread, and be a reference… it’s important for us.”
An immigration debate gripped Spain earlier this month after three nights of violence between far-right groups and residents, many of North African origin, in the southeastern town of Torre Pacheco.
READ MORE: What caused the recent anti-migrant unrest in Spain?
The far-right Vox party, which has climbed in recent polls, seized on the unrest that erupted after a 68-year-old pensioner in Torre Pacheco told media he was attacked by three men of North African origin.
Vox has also proposed the deportation of all irregular migrants, with tens of thousands arriving on Spanish shores every year on boats from Africa.
READ ALSO: Vox proposes deporting more foreigners than are actually living in Spain
“It seems that the far right is in fashion. We who have a voice will try to keep working, to continue silencing mouths and keep tearing down barriers,” Williams said.
Following Williams’ statements, Vox retweeted his interview under the statement “Spaniards are fed up with millionaires telling the poorest people what to vote for and what they have to suffer.”
The Williams brothers are set to play a pivotal role in Bilbao’s upcoming domestic and Champions League campaigns after Spain forward Nico, 23, turned down reported interest from Barcelona and signed a new long-term contract.
With additional reporting by Alex Dunham.
