Las Palmas

Foundation

A decade after the Spanish Civil War, football in Las Palmas faced numerous challenges and difficulties. The financial situations of Las Palmas’ five biggest clubs, Real Club Victoria, Marino FC, CD Gran Canaria, Atlético Club, and Arenas Club, were deteriorating rapidly due to their financial strength of being able to compete for players against Spain's top clubs. A new registration law by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, which limited players to a maximum of a two-year contract, resulted in the clubs in Las Palmas being unable to retain their academy players for extended periods. Consequently, many players relocated to the Spanish mainland to continue their football careers in national competitions. As a result, Eufemiano Fuentes Díaz, president of Marino CF, went to a meeting in Madrid to change the legislation of contracts to a minimum of four years. A different proposal was also presented, stating that all Spanish clubs were prohibited from signing players in the Canary region with the exception if they were first-team players who had already passed the stage of being academy players. These proposals were delayed and denied by the RFEF.

During this time, clubs continued to see their debts increase, leading to the possibility of defunction. The Vice President of the Las Palmas Football Federation, Manuel Rodríguez Monroy, proposed a merger of the five teams comprising the regional competition, aiming to compete in national competitions and resolve the economic situation as a result. The purpose of this proposal was to present a compelling case to the RFEF for allowing the Canary Islands to participate in national competitions, enabling Canarian footballers to compete without relocating to the Spanish mainland. This proposal was presented towards the president, Adolfo Miranda Ortega, who among other board members agreed. On 4 February 1949, a letter was sent to the presidents of the five clubs, proposing a potential merger to compete in the national competitions. The first meeting was held on 28 February 1949 in Alameda de Colón, Las Palmas with the representatives of the five merging clubs attending. Gran Canaria, Atlético and Arenas promptly agreed to the proposal due to their finances whilst Marino and Victoria remained wary of the repercussions it could have on the club and its fans. From there, the representatives agreed to meet every Monday and create a collaborative group that would be known as the Fusion Presentation.

After more than a month of deliberations, Miranda and Monroy were delegated the role of requesting a transfer into the Spanish Second Division via a letter to the RFEF. The letter was sent on 4 April 1949 but the proposition was rejected for being to detriment for the other teams and that it would alter the regulation of promotions. However, Ricardo Cabot, a secretary in the RFEF, resumed the proposition towards the board members and, on 6 June 1949, following a meeting in Madrid that Miranda and Monroy attended, it was announced by telegram that Canary Islands football was accepted into the third division of Spanish football. The acceptance allowed the merger of Arenas Club and CD Gran Canaria, both of whom gave up their headquarters and trophies, to form under the name Unión Deportiva Las Palmas as the first phase for total integration.

On 16 August 1949, the Fusion Presentation had their last meeting where after coming in contact with Marino and Victoria stated the clubs would not merge as of yet due to difficult financial situation. This led to refusals to financially support the lease of the Las Palmas Stadium for UD Las Palmas to play its games in the 1949–50 season. As a result, a "Magna Assembly" was held by Monroy on 22 August 1949 at Real Club Náutico. After a successful meeting in which all five clubs unanimously agreed towards the final proposition presented by Monroy, Unión Deportiva Las Palmas was officially established at 8 p.m. on 22 August 1949. A committee was established with José del Río Amor as the club's first president and Monroy appointed as the club's first vice president. The headquarters of Las Palmas was located in the Plazoleta Luis Antunez.

Las Palmas’ first training session was held on 16 September 1949 with new manager, Pancho Arencibia. Juan Santana Macías, a winger from Atlético, was the first player signed by the club and was present during the training session. On 9 October 1949, Las Palmas played their first match against Marino with Antoñito Jorge scoring the first goal in their history of a 2–1 win at Las Palmas stadium. Antoñito played three seasons for Las Palmas, scoring 11 goals in their promotion campaign towards the Second Division.