With a mild year-round climate and good flight connections, there aren’t many better places to escape the winter freeze and catch some football than the Canary Islands. The two largest islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, have both regularly hosted top flight action in the past and the latter still does. With plenty of action lower down the pyramid too, there’s plenty of reason to plan a Canary Islands football trip.
While the islands, located just off the western coast of Africa, are as far as a three hour flight from parts of mainland Spain, they have still very much made their mark on Spanish football. Former LaLiga stars such as David Silva, Pedro and Juan Carlos Valeron were all born and raised here, while current Barcelona midfielder Pedri was born in Tenerife, but a product of the Las Palmas youth system.
Canaries Islands football map
The Canary Islands (Islas Canarias in Spanish), are located in the Atlantic Ocean, just west of Morocco but over 1000 miles south of mainland Spain. To put that in some perspective, consider that Madrid is closer to London than any of the seven main islands that make up the Canaries.
Despite their isolated location, the Canary Islands are a formal part of Spain and are one of the country’s 17 autonomous communities. The two most populated islands are Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with just shy of a million people permanently living on each, in addition to the many holidaymakers.
Both islands are home to major clubs with second tier CD Tenerife located in the city of Santa Cruz, while top flight UD Las Palmas are based in the city of the same name in Gran Canaria. Those are also the two largest cities in the Canaries, with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria actually ranking as the ninth largest city in all of Spain.
As of the 2024/25 season, there are no other Canaries clubs in Spain’s top three tiers. However you can usually find a lower league match taking place at the weekend during the football season, including on the easternmost islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, and even the smaller western island of La Palma (not to be confused with the city of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria).
The two smallest islands visible on the map west of Tenerife, are La Gomera and El Hierro, but both have tiny populations and not much of a football presence.
Canary Islands football teams
The Big Two
Las Palmas
Stadium – Estadio Gran Canaria
Capacity – 32,400
Nearest Station – None
While Tenerife fans may disagree, Las Palmas are generally viewed as the biggest club in the Canaries. They spent 19 consecutive seasons in the Primera between 1964 and 1983, and even managed to finish 2nd in 1968/69 with Real Madrid pipping them to the title. A few European campaigns followed, but things have declined in recent years with the club having only spent seven seasons in the top flight since 1988.
That includes the 2024/25 season, Las Palmas’ second campaign back in the top flight following promotion in 2023 under Garcia Pimienta. They are one of two islands teams currently in LaLiga, along with Balearic Island outfit Mallorca.
How to buy tickets for Las Palmas matches:
The Estadio Gran Canaria is the largest stadium in the Canaries and has often hosted the Spanish national team. With a capacity of over 30,000, getting tickets for Las Palmas should be very simple, although prices may rise for big games against the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. You can find info and purchase tickets for upcoming games online via their ticketing page.
The stadium is unfortunately located quite a way south from the central areas of the city of Las Palmas. It’s roughly 5km from the Las Canteras beach area where most of the hotels and tourist facilities are located with bus routes 26, 44 and 45 providing links although groups may find it simpler to just take a taxi. There are no trains, trams or metro services on the island of Gran Canaria with plans for the first line on hold since 2004 due to funding difficulties.
Tenerife
Stadium – Estadio Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez
Capacity – 22,824
Nearest Station – La Paz (Tenerife Tram)
The other main Canaries team is CD Tenerife who take on Las Palmas in the hotly contested Canary Islands derby whenever the clubs are in the same division. Founded in 1912, they are considerably older than their rivals but have largely lived in their shadows for much of their history. However things dramatically changed in the 1990s when Las Palmas sank as low as the third tier, while Tenerife enjoyed a real golden era, spending ten straight seasons in the top flight between 1989 and 1999, having only previously featured in it once.
During that period, they famously twice denied Real Madrid the title on the final weekend and secured two 5th place finishes which secured European football. They made it all the way to the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1996/97, beating the likes of Lazio and Feyenoord before eventually losing to Schalke. However since then standards have slipped and they’ve spent most of the 21st Century in the Segunda Division, where they currently reside.
How to buy tickets for Tenerife matches:
Tenerife do have a loyal following but they rarely sell out the Estadio Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez, with average attendances of just over 15,000 during the 2023/24 season. They have some really good value tickets, with prices starting at just 15 Euros for adults and 5 Euros for children at the time of writing. More info can be found on their ticketing page.
The stadium is located conveniently, just a 10 minute walk from La Paz tram station, while it’s only a 20 minute walk from central parts of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to the ground, with plentiful bus connections too.
The Best of the Rest – Island by Island
You can find a host of other Canary Islands football clubs in the Spanish fourth and fifth tiers.
In the Segunda Federacion (fourth tier), the current Canarian representation comes from Atletico Paso (La Palma) and Union Sur Yaiza (Lanzarote), while Tenerife B also play at that level.
Meanwhile Group 12 of the Tercera Federacion (fifth tier) consists solely of Canarian clubs with teams from each of the five largest islands.
Tenerife
Aside from the Segunda Division club, there are a host of other other football teams in Tenerife and many of them are more accessible to tourists and holidaymakers. The popular holiday resort of Playa de las Americas in the south of Tenerife is home to Club Deportivo Marino who play at the 7,500 capacity Estadio Antonio Domínguez.
Even if they are away at the time of your visit, CD Buzanada, UD Ibarra and San Miguel are other Tercera Federacion sides in the Playa de las Americas area. On the north coast, you can also find Santa Ursula, the fifth club from Tenerife playing at that level as of the 2024/25 season.
Gran Canaria
In the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and surrounding area, you can find four teams playing in the Tercera Federacion – Tamaraceite, Union Viera, Arucas and Las Palmas’ B side.
A bit further south you will find local rivals Panaderia Pulido and UD Villa de Santa Brigida, while in the centre of the island, San Fernando (where David Silva played as a youngster) are based in the village of San Bartolome de Tirajana, close to Estrella CF who were promoted last year to make it eight Gran Canaria football teams in the 2024/25 Tercera Federacion.
Lanzarote
Arrecife-based Union Deportiva Lanzarote are the biggest club on the volcanic island of Lanzarote and are maybe the third largest team in the Canaries after Las Palmas and Tenerife. However, they currently play in the Tercera Federacion, a tier below their Segunda Federacion island neighbours Union Sur Yaiza.
There is one other Tercera Federacion club on the island and that’s San Bartolome CF.
Fuerteventura
The second largest Canary island by area, but sparsely populated with only around 100,000 people living there, Fuerteventura’s football scene isn’t quite as vibrant, not least after UD Fuerteventura were dissolved in 2010 due to financial problems.
As of the 2024/25 season, they have only one club in the Tercera Federacion and that’s CD Herbania, based in the capital Puerto del Rosario.
La Palma
The tiny volcanic island of La Palma punches above its weight on the football field to some extent with one Segunda Federacion and two Tercera Federacion clubs.
El Paso based Atletico Paso are currently the highest ranked side, playing in the fourth tier for the third season in a row, which means they regularly travel to and from the mainland for games.
In the Tercera Federacion, CD Mensajero are historically a bigger club, having been founded more than 100 years ago. They are based in Santa Cruz de La Palma, the island’s capital and play at the stunning cliffside Estadio Nuevo Silvestre Carrillo. Meanwhile, you can also catch Spanish fifth tier action in La Palma with Los Llanos.
Groundhopping in the Canary Islands – Getting around
The Canary Islands have excellent flight connections with Madrid, as well as many routes to cities across Europe, particularly the UK. Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Tenerife North, Lanzarote-Cesar Manrique and Fuerteventura are five of the 13 busiest in Spain, so flying in shouldn’t be a problem.
In terms of getting between the islands, the fastest ferry links between Tenerife and Gran Canaria are with Fred Olsen and take just one hour 20 minutes. There are many sailings throughout the day with fares starting at as little as €12 if booked in advance.
There are relatively good transport links between all of the five main Canary Islands by ferry. Therefore while most visitors to the region fly in and out of one island and don’t leave it, arranging a larger trip taking in several islands should be no problem at all.
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are less than ten miles apart at the closest point with the many Corralejo-Playa Blanca ferries connecting the two islands in less than half an hour each day.
Getting between Lanzarote or Fuerteventura and the other islands takes a bit longer but there are still regular connections. From Lanzarote, it can take four to six hours by ferry to reach Gran Canaria and even more to reach Tenerife (you may need to connect to a separate ferry in Gran Canaria). Do check journey times when you book, as there are some considerably slower ferries.
The small island of La Palma is best reached from the port of Los Cristianos in Southern Tenerife, with journey times of around two hours 30 minutes.
You may wish to consider renting a car to help your travels though as public transport connections on the islands are less plentiful than in mainland Spain. While there are public buses on all the islands and many tourist offerings, these may be a bit less regular during quieter periods of the year. Of the islands, only Tenerife has some form of rail network, with the Tranvia de Tenerife operating in the northern region around Santa Cruz.
Away from the football
The Canary Islands have been a popular winter sun destination for Europeans for many decades now. Their southerly location ensures they are basically the only place in Europe where you can be confident that it will be warm enough to go to the beach from November to February with average daily highs of 20°C or more throughout the year in all of the Canary Islands, at least on the coast.
You are pretty much spoiled for choice in terms of beaches. If you’re looking for a resort holiday, some of the liveliest include Las Americas (Tenerife), Playa del Ingles (Gran Canaria) and Puerto del Carmen (Lanzarote).
If you’re looking for something much quieter, there are loads more options for beautiful beaches, coves and bays away from the crowds. The island of La Palma would be a great starting point as it is the only one of the biggest five islands that hasn’t really become a major tourist destination, largely due to its size and the extremely limited capacity of its airport.
The islet of La Graciosa just off the tip of Lanzarote is another great option for escaping the crowds with Playa Francesa one of the best and quietest beaches in all the Canaries.
Inland, most of the islands have their own unique points of interest too so you shouldn’t be struggling for things to see and do. Lanzarote’s dramatic volcanic landscape is best explored in the Timanfaya National Park with a visit to the Montañas del Fuego, an essential stop to get a real understanding for just how much fire lies beneath the surface.
Fuerteventura is perhaps best known for its giant sand dunes in Corralejo which give it almost a Saharan feel. In Tenerife, Los Gigantes Cliffs are one highlight and a launching pad for whale and dolphin excursions while the island is also home to Spain’s highest peak – El Teide. This can be reached by cable car although the rapid ascent to the 3,500 metre mountain does cause altitude sickness for some people.
While the major cities in the Canaries are a bit underwhelming in truth, there are dozens of nice fishing villages dotted around the islands and there are a few pleasant towns with plenty of character including San Cristobal de la Laguna (Tenerife) and Santa Cruz (La Palma).
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