UD Las Palmas

Real Club Victoria in 1910.

Marino Fútbol Club shield.

In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, which ended a decade earlier, football in the Canary Islands was facing numerous challenges. The war disrupted the organisation of championships and created financial difficulties for the local clubs. Despite the construction of the Las Palmas Stadium five years prior, the future of football in Gran Canaria was uncertain. Several prominent clubs, including Marino Fútbol Club, Real Club Victoria, Arenas Club, and Club Deportivo Gran Canaria, were struggling with financial issues. The geographical distance between the Canary Islands and the Spanish mainland made it economically impossible for these clubs to participate in national championships, which was essential for their growth and survival.[3][4]

Manuel Rodríguez Monroy, along with the support of Adolfo Miranda, the president of the Regional Football Federation, and other members of the board of directors, decided to propose a merger as a solution to the challenges facing the clubs.[5][6] Although some clubs initially had reservations, including Marino and Victoria due to their history and social following, Gran Canaria, Atlético, and Arenas quickly embraced the idea. The formal discussions began in a meeting held at the Regional Football Federation's headquarters in Las Palmas on 28 February 1949. During this meeting, the representatives of the clubs decided to form a work team known as the Fusion Report, which would meet regularly to advance the merger proposal.[3][4][5]

After more than a month of deliberations, Miranda and Monroy were tasked with presenting the proposal to the Royal Spanish Football Federation. On 4 April 1949, they submitted a letter requesting that the team resulting from the merger be included in the Second Division.[6] Initially, the request was rejected on the grounds that it could disadvantage other teams and alter promotion regulations. However, Ricardo Cabot, the secretary of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, promised to reconsider the proposal later. After a meeting in Madrid on 6 June 1949, Canary Islands football was accepted into the third division of Spanish football, with the components of Las Palmas starting in the competition the following season.[3][4]

The success of getting into national football led to the integration of Arenas and Gran Canaria under the name Unión Deportiva Las Palmas. This was the first phase of the merger, with the goal of eventually incorporating Atlético, Marino, and Victoria under the same banner. Despite progress, there were still disagreements among the clubs, including refusals to financially support the lease of the Las Palmas Stadium for UD Las Palmas to play its matches during the 1949–1950 season. In response to these challenges, Manuel Rodríguez Monroy organised a Magna Assembly on 22 August 1949, at the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria.[7] The assembly aimed to finalise the formation of Unión Deportiva Las Palmas. During this assembly, concerns were resolved and Unión Deportiva Las Palmas was officially established for the upcoming season.[3][4]

Las Palmas finished second in their first season in the Tercera División (1949–50), ranking third in the following year's Segunda División to reach La Liga for the first time ever, and became the first Spanish club to achieve consecutive promotions in its first two years of existence. The first season in the top flight ended, however, in relegation, but the team returned to the category in 1954, going on to enjoy a six-year spell.

After Las Palmas returned to La Liga at the end of the 1963–64 season, again as champions, the club went on to have their most successful spell in the competition. Managed by Vicente Dauder, they finished third in 1967–68 behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and four club players made the Spain squad which hosted and won the UEFA Euro 1964 tournament; the following season the team fared even better and only lost the league to Real Madrid, and thus qualified for European competition for the first time in its history, appearing in the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and being knocked out in the first round by Germany's Hertha BSC (0–0 home draw, 0–1 away loss).

Chart of UD Las Palmas league performance 1929-2023

Las Palmas player Juan Guedes died suddenly on 9 March 1971 at the age of 28. The next season, French coach Pierre Sinibaldi led the club to the fifth place, with subsequent qualification for the UEFA Cup: after disposing of Torino F.C. and ŠK Slovan Bratislava, the Spaniards bowed out to Dutch club FC Twente; at the end of 1974–75 another team player, Tonono – a defender who played with Guedes – died of a liver infection.

Las Palmas' third appearance in European competition came with the 1977–78 UEFA Cup, where they defeated FK Sloboda Tuzla of Yugoslavia in the first round before falling to the English side Ipswich Town.[8] Under the management of Miguel Muñoz, and with players such as Argentines Miguel Ángel Brindisi, Daniel Carnevali (the first to arrive in 1973), Carlos Morete and Quique Wolff, the club also reached their first final of the Copa del Rey in that year, losing on 19 April to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (1–3).[9]

From the 1990s onwards, Las Palmas played mainly in the Segunda División, but also spent six years in Segunda División B – the new third level created in 1977 – and, from 2000 to 2002, competed in the top flight. On 3 October 2001 the side managed a 4–2 home win against Real Madrid, with youth product Rubén Castro scoring two goals for the hosts, but the season ended nonetheless in relegation.[10] On 22 December 2001, Las Palmas played its 1,000th game in La Liga. In the 2009–10 season in Segunda División the club finished 17th, just one point away from being relegated to Segunda División B. On 21 June 2015, Las Palmas was promoted back to La Liga after defeating Real Zaragoza on the away goals rule.

On 27 May 2023, Las Palmas achieved promotion to the first division by sealing a 2nd position in the table, respectively, on the very last match day of the season, after spending five years in the second tier.

The current land in Barranco Seco was acquired by UD Las Palmas during the 1960s by the efforts of then club director Manuel Betancor. During the 1970s, there was only a single training pitch used by the reserve and junior teams of the club. In 1982, when the ground was upgraded to be used as a training field by the first team.

In June 2015, the Ciudad Deportiva project was initiated. However, works did not start until 2017. After around 2 years of construction works, the complex was finally opened on July 8, 2019. It was designed by architect Juan Palop-Casado,[11] who assured that the construction of this project was "an attempt that has been made to build with the greatest possible sustainability".[12] The construction was executed by "Construcciones Alex y Nadal, S.L.", involving around 380 workers, 10,000 tons of sand, nearly 300 tons of steel, almost 2,000 cubic meters of concrete and beams of approximately 1,600 meters.[13]

Being only the first phase of the entire sports city project, the club invested 22.5 million euros of its own funds to carry out the construction works of the current facilities.[14] The construction of a multifunctional service building is scheduled in the second phase. The eventual area of the complex will become 70,000 m² after the completion of the second phase.

The new complex has modern changing rooms, a meeting hall, a gym with physiotherapy facilities, a dining room, a press room, in addition to two parking spaces designated for 130 vehicles. The Ciudad Deportiva is home to 3 regular size training pitches:[15]

• Ernesto Aparicio training field of natural grass.
• David García Santana training field of natural grass.
• Manuel Betancor training field of artificial turf, designated for the training sessions of UD Las Palmas Atlético and UD Las Palmas C; the reserve teams of the club.[16]

Carlos Morete, the second top scorer in the history of the club after Germán Dévora.

View of Gran Canaria stadium.

• 35 seasons in La Liga
• 33 seasons in Segunda División
• 6 seasons in Segunda División B
• 1 season in Tercera División

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 GK  ESP Ale Gorrín

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ESP Alejandro Palanca (at Ponferradina until 30 June 2024) — DF  ESP Enrique Clemente (at Racing Ferrol until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  ESP Ale García (at Antequera until 30 June 2024) — FW  ESP Joel del Pino (at Avilés until 30 June 2024)