Peñíscola FS · History

Peñíscola, a coastal town in the north of the province of Castellón with just over 8,000 residents outside the summer months, has had a futsal club since 2000, and in 2013 it reached the Spanish top flight. Peñíscola Fútbol Sala, who play in blue and yellow, have competed at the top level under several sponsorship names, including Peñíscola Bodegas Dunviro and Servigroup Peñíscola. Their home is the municipal arena that has carried the name of former club president Juan Vizcarro since 2022.

Origins and regional rise

The club was founded in 2000 and spent its first decade in the regional leagues of the Valencian Community. Its first trophy came in 2006-07, when it won the provincial first division. Three seasons later, in 2009-10, it was crowned champion of the Tercera División, which opened the door to the national leagues. In the Spanish second division the club quickly settled among the leading sides, and within a few years it had gone from small seaside team to promotion contender.

Promotion to the top flight (2013)

In 2012-13 the team finished second in the Spanish second division, level on 54 points with leaders Montesinos Jumilla. That May the national futsal league (LNFS) cancelled the promotion play-offs because the top flight was expanding to 16 teams, and Peñíscola went up directly. In the summer of 2013 the club strengthened its squad with signings such as Carlos Anós, José Contreras, Asensio and Michel, and it made its debut in the top division in 2013-14, finishing twelfth.

Eight seasons among the elite (2013-2021)

The second season in the top flight brought consolidation. Playing as Peñíscola Bodegas Dunviro, the team finished eighth in 2014-15 and reached the title play-offs for the first time. In the quarter-finals they met Inter Movistar, who had topped the regular season, won the tie in May 2015 and went on to lift the league title. The club finished eighth again in 2015-16 and seventh in both 2016-17 and 2018-19, its best league positions of that period. In October 2016 it opened the league with a win over a bigger-budget opponent that counted among the surprises of the first matchday. After finishing eleventh in 2019-20, the 2020-21 campaign ended in sixteenth place and relegation to the second division, after eight straight seasons in the top flight.

Relegation and return (2021-2023)

The spell in the second tier lasted two seasons. In 2021-22 the team was second in the regular season but went out in the promotion play-off semi-finals. The following year left no doubt: it won the 2022-23 second division with 83 points, a record for the league, and sealed its return in April 2023. Coached by Galician Santi Valladares, the side, by then known as Servigroup Peñíscola, marked its top-flight return in September 2023 with an 8-2 home win. In that first season back it finished tenth and reached a cup semi-final.

The Juan Vizcarro arena

The team plays in Peñíscola’s municipal sports hall, opened on 10 January 2015 and holding around 1,200 spectators. Club president Juan Vizcarro died of Covid-19 in January 2022, aged 57. In June that year the town approved naming the arena after him, and it has been known as the Pabellón Juan Vizcarro ever since.

The 2024-25 season

The 2024-25 campaign produced the club’s biggest achievements. On 12 February 2025 it beat Jimbee Cartagena 5-2 in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey to reach the May Final Four, where it went out in the semi-finals. In March it played the Copa de España at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia: it again knocked out Jimbee Cartagena in the quarter-finals, on penalties after a 2-2 draw and with two saves from goalkeeper Gio, and then thrashed FC Barcelona 8-2 in the semi-finals. On 23 March 2025 it beat Illes Balears Palma Futsal 4-3 in the final, with goals from Gauna, Diego Sancho and Pablo Muñoz, to win its first Copa de España, the first national trophy in the club’s history. On 25 May 2025 it finished the regular season in first place, with 64 points, 20 wins and 126 goals scored, the highest tally in the division. In the quarter-finals of the title play-offs it lost to ElPozo Murcia, who won the deciding game 3-2 in Peñíscola on 4 June 2025.

Honours

The club’s honours include one Copa de España (2025), one Spanish second division title (2022-23), one Tercera División title (2009-10) and one provincial first division title (2006-07). At regional level it won the Valencian Community Super Cup in 2023-24 and 2024-25.