CD El Palo · History

El Palo is a fishing district in the east of Málaga, and its football club, Centro de Deportes El Palo, won promotion to Segunda División B, then Spain’s third tier, in 2013 after winning Group IX of the Tercera División. The club was founded in 1965 as El Palo Club de Fútbol and re-founded in 1972 as Centro de Deportes El Palo. In 2019 it was renamed El Palo Fútbol Club and adopted a new crest. It plays its home games at the San Ignacio ground.

Neighbourhood roots

Football was played in El Palo long before the club existed. C.D. Miraflores and Juventud Paleña were formed in the early 20th century. Sporting Miraflores and Balompédica Paleña followed in the 1940s, and C.D. Goliat and Peña Deportiva Galacho, which ran many youth teams, in the early 1950s. The San Ignacio ground opened on 30 November 1952 as the home of C.D. I.C.E.T., which the Málaga provincial archive names as the origin of the club. El Palo Club de Fútbol started playing in 1965, with mixed results. It played first at La Segalerva and then at San Ignacio, and never got beyond the regional leagues. In 1972 it was re-founded as Centro de Deportes El Palo.

First steps in the Tercera División

The club made its Tercera División debut in 1982-83 and finished 19th. It returned to the division at the end of the 1980s, finishing 12th in 1988-89 and 20th in 1989-90. It then spent almost two decades in Andalusian regional football, including the Málaga group of the Regional Preferente in the 1990s. It won the Regional Preferente in 2007-08 and finished second in the Primera Andaluza in 2008-09, which took it back to the Tercera. One of its academy players, Francisco Portillo, born in Málaga in 1990, moved to Málaga CF’s youth system in 2006 and later played in La Liga.

A first promotion play-off

Back in the Tercera, El Palo finished third in 2009-10 and reached the play-offs for promotion to Segunda División B for the first time. SD Amorebieta knocked them out 4-2 on aggregate. San Ignacio still had a dirt pitch, which the federation did not allow, so the home leg was played at the Julián Torralba ground in Ciudad Jardín. The team kept playing there in 2010-11 while its new stadium was built. It finished 14th that season and ninth in 2011-12.

The new San Ignacio

Work on the new stadium started in early 2011 and it opened on 3 June that year. It cost €2.3 million, paid for by Málaga City Council, and the dirt pitch was replaced with an artificial surface. It has a covered stand of about 1,000 seats on the east side, dressing rooms, club and media facilities, and a training pitch next to it. An uncovered stand was added at the north end for the club’s Segunda B debut.

Champions and promotion in 2013

In 2012-13 El Palo were champions of Group IX of the Tercera División. In the play-off between group winners they lost to Burgos CF: 0-0 at San Ignacio on 25 May and 3-2 at El Plantío on 2 June. That sent them into the non-champions route. They knocked out FC Jumilla (2-1 away in Lorca and 5-1 at home) and met Deportivo de La Coruña B in the final round. On 23 June they lost 4-2 at Riazor, with goals from Antonio Muñoz and Nacho Aranda. On 29 June they won 2-0 at San Ignacio, with goals from Jesule and Ismael. The tie finished 4-4 on aggregate and El Palo went through on away goals, which meant promotion to Segunda División B.

Two seasons in the third tier

On 4 September 2013 the club made its Copa del Rey debut against Xerez CD. The game finished 1-1 after extra time and El Palo lost the shoot-out 4-2. In the league they finished 12th in 2013-14, their first Segunda B season. In 2014-15 they finished 19th and were relegated to the Tercera. From 2015-16 to 2020-21 they stayed in the top half of Group IX, with fourth place in 2018-19 as their best finish. In June 2019 the club changed its name to El Palo Fútbol Club.

Tercera and Segunda Federación

When Spain’s lower divisions were reorganised in 2021, El Palo moved into the Tercera Federación, the fifth tier. They finished tenth in 2021-22 and third in 2022-23, which earned a play-off place. They beat UD Torre del Mar and Atlético Malagueño (1-0), then won both legs of the final against CD Subiza: 1-0 in Málaga on 28 May 2023 and 3-1 in Navarre on 4 June. That win brought promotion to the Segunda Federación. In 2023-24 they played in Group IV and collected 36 points, with eight wins, 12 draws and 14 defeats. They finished 15th, went back down to the Tercera Federación and finished 11th in 2024-25.