Aitor Elizegi
Aitor Elizegi Alberdi is a Spanish entrepreneur, chef and the president of football club Athletic Bilbao.Biography
Born in 1966, in Santutxu, Bilbao, Elizegi grew up supporting Athletic Bilbao, becoming a member of the club at the age of 25. Elizegi entered the culinary industry in 1987, winning the Spanish Chefs Championship a year later and the Basque Gastronomy Award in 2000 for best restaurateur at his Gaminiz restaurant. As of 2019, Elizegi is head of a number of Basque restaurants in Bilbao, including Txocook, Bascook and Basquery.
On 27 December 2018, Elizegi won Athletic Bilbao's presidential election to succeeding former incumbent Josu Urrutia, defeating Alberto Uribe-Echevarría, treasurer under Urrutia, by a margin of just 85 votes.
One of his first acts as president was to replace the long-serving sporting director José María Amorrortu with
Rafael Alkorta and :es:Andoni Ayarza|Andoni Ayarza,, as promised in his election campaign.Politics
Elizegi is a member of the Basque Nationalist Party. Elizegi is a Basque nationalist and independentist, and has expressed a desire for the admittance of a Basque national football team into UEFA.
