The Canary Islands derby is any football match contested between Spanish sides UD Las Palmas and CD Tenerife, who are regarded as the top two sides in the Canary Islands. World Soccer Magazine rated it as one of the 50 greatest rivalries in the world, and it is considered one of the most important derbies in Spain.
The two teams, based on different islands, have been the Canary Islands' top two sides virtually since their establishment. Both sides have experienced spells in Spain's top division, La Liga. UD Las Palmas' greatest successes came in the 1960s and 70s, in a period when they came runners-up in La Liga just behind Real Madrid and in the Spanish Cup (losing to FC Barcelona in the final), competing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now UEFA Europa League) in 1969, and UEFA cup two times in 1972 and 1977. Tenerife's greatest successes came in the 1990s; they recorded their best ever league finish in 1992–93 and in 1995–96, in which they finished 5th. In 1996–97, they reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to eventual winners Schalke 04.
The first contested match between the two took place under peculiar circumstances in the wake of Las Palmas's formation from its five constituent clubs. For only the 1949–50 season of the third division, the regional champions of Gran Canaria and Tenerife were placed alongside 4 top teams from the Tercera División in the "Final Phase", and the top two teams from this group would advance to the second tier. Las Palmas performed well enough in the group to win promotion, but Tenerife fell far short, only winning a single match and losing both games against Las Palmas. This promotion system was abolished the next year, and the two would not meet again until 1953.
Since 2003, UD Las Palmas play their home games at the Estadio Gran Canaria which has a capacity of 31,250. Located in the island's capital city of Las Palmas, the stadium is the biggest in the Canary Islands. In 2007 it hosted a Spain international friendly against Northern Ireland, which Spain won 1-0 with a goal from Xavi.
CD Tenerife play their home games at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López which holds 23,000. Located in the island's capital city of Santa Cruz, it has hosted four Spain internationals, against Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Slovakia respectively.
As of 7 January 2024, there have been 75 official Canary Island derbies. 26 were drawn, UD Las Palmas won 28, and CD Tenerife won 21.[1]
League
The Copa de Canarias is a friendly tournament played between Las Palmas and Tenerife since 2011 in a double-leg format. Since 2012, the tournament is sponsored by Mahou and receives the name of Copa Mahou Canarias.
In 2018, it was approved to reduce the tournament to a single game.
UD Las Palmas play in yellow shirts with blue shorts and blue socks.
C.D. Tenerife play in blue and white shirts with blue shorts and white socks.