Athletic Bilbao keep it in the family with Williams brothers

MADRID (Reuters) - Athletic Bilbao brought two brothers off the bench in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Real Valladolid in La Liga when 18-year-old Nico Williams made his debut and was soon joined on the pitch by older brother Inaki.

Nico's debut means the brothers, whose parents met in a refugee camp in Ghana, count for two of the three Black players to have represented the club, who only select footballers who are from or grew up in the Basque Country. Jonas Ramalho became the club's first Black player in 2011.

"This is a day of immense happiness for me and my family and I hope I can keep playing games with my brother," Nico told the club's official channel.

Nico had been named in the matchday squad for two La Liga games and it was third time lucky for the forward, who came on in the 62nd minute.

Twenty-six-year-old Inaki, who made his Athletic debut in 2014, came on 10 minutes later to make his 190th consecutive appearance in La Liga although it was not a happy evening for the team, who twice gave away the lead and missed out on the chance to go eighth in the standings.

The brothers are the first siblings to play for Athletic since Julio and Patxi Salinas in 1982.

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Toby Davis)