After Franco's death in 1975, the team was reformed using the name Euskadiko selekzioa and from the early 1990s began playing regular friendly matches, usually during La Liga's Christmas break.

In 2007, the team's name was controversially changed to Euskal Herriko futbol Selekzioa causing disagreements which led to the annual matches being cancelled.

In the lower grades (such as in the Spanish regional championship [es] for youths and the UEFA Regions' Cup for amateurs), the team is either called Euskadiko selekzioa or Seleccíon del País Vasco and exclusively represents the Basque Country autonomous community (Euskadi), with Navarre competing separately.

[20][21] They played once against the Argentine national side, losing 4–0, then drew 1–1 against Porteño, and finally winning 0–4 against a team selected from Argentina's interior league.

It wasn't until 1930 that the Biscayan and Gipuzkoan federations finally came together to create the first permanent team with the name 'Vasconia' ('Baskoniako selekzioa') to represent the Basque Country.

[27][28] In 1937 the first president of the Basque autonomous region José Antonio Aguirre, who in his youth had been a player for Athletic Bilbao, decided to send a Basque football team abroad with the dual aim of raising money to fund the cost of the civil war, and also as a form of propaganda letting the world know about the conflict in Spain.

Money raised was reportedly used to fund a hospital in La Rosarie, France,[32] used by Spanish refugees, and also to help support the thousands of Basque children who had been sent abroad for safety.

Due to the civil war in Spain FIFA had banned all FIFA-affiliated countries and clubs from playing any Spanish teams.

When Bilbao was captured by Franco's forces on 19 June 1937 the Basque team were in Moscow, having been invited by the Soviet Union's Politburo due to political motivations.

[30] Between 1939 and 1975 the Basque football team played only twice due to General Franco's dictatorship which severely limited the freedoms previously enjoyed by the regions of Spain.

A team made up of players from the Basque Country played Real Madrid in the Gal Stadium in Irun, losing 0–2.

[50] Playing for the Basque Country were Carmelo Cedrún, (Alarcia), Gorriti, Martínez, Marigil, (Zabala), Azcárate, (Iruretagoyena), Iguarán, Amas, Dionisio Urreizti, Landa, (Chapela), Mauri, (Mendiluce) and Erro.

[52] The second time was in San Mamés, Bilbao, on 21 February 1971 when a memorial match for Juan Gardeazábal was played between the Basque Country and Catalonia.

[53] Playing for the Basque Country were Zamora, Deusto, Irusquieta, Zugazaga, Echeberría, Lema, Guisasola, Estéfano, Santamaría, Arambarri, Ibáñez, Marañon, Fernando Ansola, Araquistáin, Rojo II, Urtiaga, and Ortuondo.

On 16 August 1979 they played under the name 'Euskadiko selekzioa' for the first time since 1938 at San Mames stadium during the Great Week of Bilbao, winning 4–1 against a League of Ireland XI.

[56] Controversy was caused before the match by the Spanish government deciding that the song of the Basque football team (Gernikako Arbola – The Tree of Guernica)[57] should not be sung before the game.

The game was played as a fundraiser for a campaign promoting the Basque language called "Bai Euskarari", organized by Sustraiak, as a response to its suppression during the dictatorship.

[59] Prior to this, their last game outside Spain had been in June 1939, in the Spanish Civil War era against Club Atlético Corrales in Mexico City.

[60] In 2007 the team's name was changed to 'Euskal Herria' (Euskal Herriko Futbol Selekzioa), and on 29 December they played a match against Catalonia in San Mames.

For this reason the Basque Football Federation proposed returning to the team's previous name, 'Euskadi' (Euskadiko Selekzioa), for the match scheduled for December 2008 against Iran.

Firstly on 25 May they visited Estonia, winning 1–2,[69] then on 28 December they played their last game in the old San Mamés against Tunisia, losing 0–2.

[76] In October 2017, the federation confirmed that the Basque team would not play a friendly in late December that year as had become traditional (for reasons including scheduling difficulties, credibility in the football community and a noted decline in attendances at the festive matches), but instead would look to schedule a fixture during one of the FIFA International Match Calendar dates, possibly in March 2018.

Scheduled ten days after the 2018–19 La Liga season had ended but prior to the second division's conclusion, various factors meant experienced players were reluctant to put themselves forward for the long trip across the Atlantic, and the small squad was augmented with promising youngsters, including four who had never played at a higher level than the regional third tier with Athletic Bilbao's reserves.

The match itself, described in the press as "boring at times", "bland" and "poor", petered out into a goalless draw in humid conditions, although both coaches stated they were satisfied with the outcome and the effort shown.

[89] With the pandemic still ongoing in late 2021 (earlier causing the Euro fixtures to be moved from Bilbao to Seville), the Basque federation confirmed there would be no festive match that year, but an attempt would be made to arrange one for March 2022.

In late 2018, the Basque Football Federation voted in favour of applying to FIFA and UEFA for official recognition for the team.

[98] Due to the unofficial status of the Basque Country team and others, many of the usual conventions of international football do not apply.

This contrasts with their opponents, as the fixture does not contribute to their Association ranking points or individual cap totals and is thus one of the least significant matches out of several they would play each year.

In combination with home advantage for the Basque team in most of their fixtures, this has led to the results falling in their favour more often than might be expected compared to other nations perceived to have a similar standard of players.

[107][108] The Basques retained the Spanish stage title in 2005–06 (hosting the semi-finals and final), but did not progress from their intermediate group in the subsequent 2007 UEFA Regions' Cup.