Unionistas de Salamanca CF

After UD Salamanca's dissolution, a group of supporters founded Unionistas de Salamanca Club de Fútbol, a fan-based club created mainly to preserve UDS' memory.[2][3] After the club's creation, people like Vicente del Bosque[4] and Dani Rovira[5] became associates. A number of British citizens resident in Spain and England are also members.[2] The fees contributed by the members of the club are a very important part of club's budget: last season (2018-19) there were 2,653 people who decided to become partial owners the club, all of them with real names and surnames and paying their corresponding fee.[6] During the first season after its foundation, the club played home games at the “Rosa Colorado” municipal stadium.[7]

On 2 September 2014 Unionistas was inscribed in Primera Provincial de Salamanca, the sixth level of Spanish football.[2][8] A day later it played its first official match, a 0–1 friendly loss against UD Santa Marta.[9]

Unionistas achieved promotion to Primera Regional in April 2015, after defeating Real Salamanca Monterrey.[10] Just one year later, it was promoted to Tercera División by beating Onzonilla.

The first season of the club in the Spanish fourth division was successful, as it ended in the third position of the Castile and León group and qualified to the promotion play-offs to Segunda División B. The club qualified for a second attempt in the next season, after topping group 8, and this time achieved promotion by defeating Socuéllamos in the last round, with a penalty kick scored in the 96th minute.

The first season in Segunda Division B was successful, as the team managed to finish in 9th place, avoiding relegation and qualifying for the Copa del Rey next season.

In their debut at Copa del Rey, Unionistas reached the round of 32 after beating Atlético Baleares and Deportivo La Coruña. In this round, they were eliminated by powerhouse Real Madrid, after losing 1–3. In the league, the season was more difficult. After first 11 league games the club is holding 19th position among 20 teams.[11] However, the club remained in the league after leaving the last positions and after the suspension of the league due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 16 October 2018

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Brais Pereiro GK Javi Hernández DF Juan Góngora DF Íñigo Zubiri DF David Gallego DF Pedro López DF Piojo Hernández DF Ayoze Placeres MF Javier Ribelles

No. Position Player MF Cristian Portilla MF Javi Navas MF Diego González MF Álvaro Romero MF Manuel Motos MF Iván Garrido FW Carlos de la Nava FW Guille Andrés

• Tercera División: 2017–18

Players who have reached international status or reached 100 league matches for the club

• Junior
• David Mitogo

In its first season, Unionistas de Salamanca played its home games at Polideportivo Rosa Colorado, commonly known as La Sindical, with a capacity of 2,000 spectators.[12]

Since 2015, the club has played its games at Pistas del Helmántico, with a capacity of 3,000 spectators.[13][14]

On 11 of November 2017, it was announced that a new stadium would be built in the Zurguén district, in the southern part of Salamanca. The new home of Unionistas, "Estadio Zurguén" will presumably be open for the 2019-20 season.[15]

Unionistas de Salamanca has a strong rivalry with Salamanca UDS, formerly known as Salmantino. Both teams meet in their matches, called the derby of the 50 metres as their stadiums are separated by this distance.[14]

While Unionistas was born as a homage of former UD Salamanca, dissolved in 2013, Salamanca CF claims it is its continuation by using their name and their shield, despite a judicial statement established it is a completely different club.

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Statistics data base (in Spanish)
• Club & stadium history Estadios de España (in English)