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. At the same time a choir called Eresoinka was formed to tour Europe for the same purpose. Money raised was reportedly used to fund a hospital in La Rosarie, France, used by Spanish refugees, and also to help support the thousands of Basque children who had been sent abroad for safety.