We were delighted to welcome Athletic Club Vice President Jon Ruigomez and Club Director Josetxu Urrutia to The J.Davidson Stadium this morning ahead of the La Liga giants' Europa League semi-final second leg tie against Manchester United.

Building on our relationship with the Bilbao club, originally forged through March's Non-League Day celebrations, CEO Sam Mackenzie, Director of Football Marc Tierney, Nigel Swinbank & Dom Aldcroft gave Jon and Josetxu a tour of our home of 115 years, offering our guests a window into the world of English non-league football.

Also joining us was Witton Albion chairman Graham Wood - Albion were fellow Non-League Day collaborators with Athletic, the three clubs tied together by our home colours of red and white stripes.

"It was our pleasure to welcome Jon and Josetxu to Altrincham FC and to talk about what our club and community are all about," said Sam Mackenzie.

"Building positive, lasting relationships within football is hugely important. To have the opportunity to open our doors to a club known across the globe for not only their footballing success, but also their community focus, shows the ability football has to bring people together.

"We thank them again for their support on Non-League Day, which brought us together, and we look forward to building a strong connection going forward."

As well as Club Directors we've also welcomed Athletic Club fans to The J.Davidson Stadium in recent months. 

Altrincham residents Damian and Ainhoa, who helped with our Non-League Day promotion before attending the NLD match with Barnet, were joined by Idoia to take in the final game of our season against Tamworth on Monday.

A big thank you to everyone connected to Athletic Club from all of us at The J.Davidson Stadium.