Article updated: 17/07/2026
Ibiza is famed for its tourism, nightlife, music & Phoenician heritage. However, its footballing pedigree is at best questionable. Until recently, football never really had a role in the island’s identity. Neighbouring Mallorca has long been the region’s footballing hotspot, whilst Ibiza has spent much of the past 70 years playing second fiddle when the conversation turns to the beautiful game.
Until recently, the most successful team to hail from the island was Sociedad Deportiva Ibiza. They were founded in 1950 as Ibiza Club de Fútbol, changing their name in 1956 and reaching the Tercera in 1961. Here they remained for the next 17 seasons, finishing runners-up in their debut season and again in 1966-67. That second runners-up position earned a place in the promotion playoffs, where SD Ibiza beat Madrid-based Colonia Moscardó 4-3 on aggregate. However, CD Lugo had their number in the next round, winning the tie 4-1 over the two legs. The club’s first Tercera title was secured in 1977-78, and with it came automatic promotion to Segunda B. Here they remained for the next six seasons, never finishing higher than 13th, before finally succumbing to the drop in 1983-84, thanks to a measly total of five wins and 22 points.
Over the next decade, the club resided in the Tercera except for two season-long returns to Segunda B. The first in 1989-90 ended in relegation, whilst a second Tercera title earned another visit in 1992-93. This time, SD Ibiza achieved their highest-ever finish of 11th, but true to the image of 1990s Ibiza, they had burned the candle at both ends and with the wages unpaid at the season’s end, the club was relegated to the Tercera. It was a sign of things to come as the following season saw the club struggle on & off the pitch and drop to the regional leagues. In 1997, SD Ibiza merged with UD Ibiza to form Club Esportiu Eivissa, using the Catalan name for the island. What followed was a compacted version of the former SD Ibiza. There were some reasonable results to start with in the Tercera and then a title and promotion to Segunda B in 2007. The club was now known as Societat Esportiva Eivissa-Ibiza, and that first season in the third tier saw the club record a very respectable 7th place finish. However, with mounting debts and a drastically cut budget, Eivissa was relegated to the Regional Preferente in May 2009 after failing to pay the players’ wages. The club struggled on for another season under the name of UD Ibiza Eivissa, before eventually folding with debts of €1m.
The first dedicated football ground on the island was the Camp de Sa Palmera. Opened in 1920, it was located in the Es Pratet neighbourhood of the city, and stood between the modern-day Carrer de Felip II and Carrer de Carles V. SD Ibiza used the ground until 1956, when they moved to a new enclosure in the district of Sa Bodega. The Campo de Municipal Deportes, which stood between the Carrer Balears & Carrer Canarias, consisted of two open terraces on the east and west sides and narrower terraces at the northern and southern ends. Changing facilities were housed at the southern end, next to tennis courts, which still stand next to the Parc de la Pau, which now covers the site of the former football ground.
In 1991, the municipality opened the Estadi Can Misses to the west of the town, which was three parts impressive, one part barren wasteland. On opening, Can Misses was a horseshoe-shaped enclosure with a capacity of 9,000 across three open terraces. The third side was left open. During the summer of 2002, the municipality refurbished Can Misses by upgrading the artificial pitch and building a single-tier stand on the west side that included changing & media facilities. The bank of blue & yellow seats tapered away to the north and south sides, whilst the central section was covered by a canvas sail-like cover. Unfortunately, it was a case of style over substance. In November 2012, high winds damaged the cover, and it was not replaced until the start of the 2013-14 season.
Following the demise of SD Eivissa, Can Misses went a couple of seasons without staging any senior football. In 2011, UD Atlético Isleño moved to Can Misses, but debts quickly accumulated and they ceased to exist in 2013. In July 2015, former Valencia President Amadeo Salvo registered Unión Deportiva Ibiza-Eivissa with the local federation. Salvo had to pay €60,000 to the local federation to clear the debt accumulated by the club of the same name that was liquidated in 2010. UD Ibiza-Eivissa reached the Tercera in 2017-18, and finished third in their debut season. Their chance for promotion seemed to have passed after they lost to Atlético Levante in the playoff final. However, the demise of Lorca FC left a vacancy in Group IV of Segunda B for the 2018-19 season. The Spanish Federation put the place out to tender, and on 8 August 2018, UD Ibiza-Eivissa won the tender with the best prospectus of the clubs that were prepared to meet the registration fee of €480,000.
Under Salvo’s leadership, UD Ibiza (they dropped “Eivissa” in 2021) went from strength to strength. That first season in Segunda B saw a 6th placed finish, whilst the curtailed 2019-20 season saw the club finish runners-up in Group I of Segunda B. Due to the pandemic, the playoffs were played over a single tie at a neutral venue. UD Ibiza fell at the first hurdle, losing 1-2 to UE Cornellá at the Ciudad de Málaga. Undeterred, UD Ibiza finished top of their sub-group in 2021 and overcame Real Madrid Castilla & UCAM Murcia in the playoffs to earn promotion to the second tier. With little option to play elsewhere, UD Ibiza signed an agreement with the local council for exclusive use of Can Misses. Under the deal, the club met the €2.3m bill to upgrade facilities to La Segunda standards. The artificial turf was replaced with a natural grass surface, and the temporary stands that were installed in January 2020 for the club’s Copa del Rey tie with Barcelona were upgraded. The west stand’s changing and media facilities were also upgraded ahead of the 2021-22 season, taking the revised capacity to 6,200.
UD Ibiza’s first visit to the second tier ended after two seasons. The cost of the adventure was upward of €6m, with upgrades to Can Misses swallowing up a large portion of the expenditure. The drop to the Primera Federación saw the removal of the temporary stands, reducing capacity to 4,500, and the stadium was renamed Palladium Can Misses following a sponsorship deal with a hotel chain. The makeover isn’t convincing and only emphasises that it is literally a stadium of two halves, neither of which really complements the other or the stunning backdrop.
Estadios de España 