UD Las Palmas, located on the north-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria, are building positive momentum with another win this weekend, beating Villarreal CF 2-1.
The newcomers to La Liga are starting to impress their fans, with a standout performance against Villarreal on Sunday. With two goals either side of half-time, Las Palmas were comfortable victors. The match also saw a stunning free-kick from centre-back Saul Coco, their first direct free kick goal in La Liga since their last appearance in the league back in 2017.
Following a tough start to life in the top division and not registering a win until Matchday 6 against Granada, Los Amarillos have now won 3 of their last 4 league matches and find themselves sat 10th in La Liga.
Former player now manager García Pimienta has brought in a style of free flowing football, adopted having learned his trade at FC Barcelona’s La Masia academy both as a player and manager. The 49-year-old, who joined Las Palmas in January 2022, was involved in Barca’s youth team coaching set-up from 2006 and went on to manage Barcelona B from 2018. Pimienta made an immediate impact at Las Palmas and secured the club’s promotion back to the top division for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Interestingly, Las Palmas along with the Gran Canaria Tourism Board have recently partnered with EFL Championship side Norwich City, with the aim of promoting the island to British tourists. With the former Premier League team being nicknamed The Canaries and coincidentally also wearing yellow and featuring a canary on their club crest, Las Palmas saw a great opportunity to grow their club and the island within the UK.
Making the first move in the partnership, Las Palmas stated: “We contacted (Norwich City) because we discovered a nice story that could serve as a means to connect and start a fruitful relationship for both. It’s interesting to note that the English club’s supporters and the citizens of Norwich in general are called The Canaries.”
Now playing an attractive brand of football which sees UD Las Palmas sitting comfortably in mid-table, this should only help boost tourism on the island, with more than 426,000 tourists visiting Gran Canaria in the first half of 2023.
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