Galicia national football team

The first game of the Galician national football team took place on 19 November 1922 in Coia, Vigo as part of official tournament Copa del Príncipe de Asturias organised by RFEF – This was at a time when there was no national club championship per se, Galician teams would play each other in the Galician Championship[3] and the winner would then go on to face the other regional champions in the Copa del Rey. However, later political developments in Spain made it impossible for Galicia national football team to take part at official competitions. Hence, after Copa del Príncipe de Asturias was discontinued all games were merely friendlies. The Galician national football team as such ceased all activity during the time of the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship (1936–1975).

The project was retaken in the early 1980s, although Galicia's first recent game only happened on 29 December 2005. It was a 3–2 win over Uruguay, and it was played at the packed stadium of San Lázaro, Santiago de Compostela. In December 2006, another game was contested against Ecuador, played in Riazor, A Coruña. The teams tied 1–1. Against Cameroon, on the next year, the result was the same, 1–1. Once again, in 2008, the Irmandiña played another friendly game, this time against Iran. The result was 3–2.

Changes in the composition of the Galician Government after the 2009 elections resulted in a lack of official support for the national team. However, the supporters' group Siareiros Galegos managed to organise a number of non-official international games involving Galician players from lower categories as a sign of protest, giving continuation to the project. These efforts were supported by a number of local governments, which would allow the use of their facilities. Galicia played teams representing Palestine, Western Sahara, Iraqi Kurdistan and Occitania in 2013. Siareiros Galegos announced at that time that it would be the last match until further notice due to the financial situation.[4] On 26 December 2015, however, Siareiros Galegos did set up yet another game, where Galicia faced players representing Senegal.[5]

Galicia vs. Venezuela.

The current president of the FGF, Mr Louzán, days after the Senegal game, announced that the Federation would organise a first-level game again in 2016. It was mentioned that players from the top professional Galician teams, Deportivo and Celta, had lobbied in favour.[6][7] A game was eventually held on 20 May in Riazor, where Galicia met Venezuela to a 1–1 draw. After the game, the Galician coaches mentioned the keen interest expressed by players to continue with the project and play more games on a regular basis.[8]