South of Pamplona, just before the turning to the airport, you will find the Ciudad Deportiva de Tajonar, CA Osasuna’s training complex and home to Club Atlético Osasuna B, one of Spanish Football’s most consistent reserve sides. Formed in 1964 when their home was the old Campo de San Juan, Los Rojillos have clocked up a total of 38 seasons in Spain’s third tier.
CA Osasuna was a relatively early convert to the benefits of official reserve team football, but prior to the early 1960s, it had relied on partnerships with local clubs such as CD Iruña and CD Oberena. The reserve side left the Campo de San Juan in 1967, joining the First XI at the new Estadio El Sadar. After 8 seasons in the regional championship, Club Atlético Osasuna Promesas, as they were then known, debuted in the Tercera in 1972. It was a brief stay, with the club returning to the regional leagues two seasons later, but despite this, players made the step up from La Cantera to the first team throughout the ’70s and early ’80s. Osasuna Promesas returned to the Tercera in 1980 and two seasons later won promotion to Segunda B, and so began their practically permanent stay in the third tier. In 1991, changes by the Spanish Federation to the set-up of reserve team football saw CA Osasuna Promesas renamed Club Atlético Osasuna B and absorbed as a fully professional unit within CA Osasuna.
Tajonar was opened in July 1982, and Osasuna B for the start of the 1982-83 season. To start with, the complex was more of a training base than an actual stadium, with hard standing around one of the pitches being the only concession to spectator comfort. Additional land was purchased in 1987, but the facility only really began to take shape in 2001 when the complex was expanded and the two northernmost pitches gained full-length covered terraces on their northern side. The pitch to the east is reserved for first-team training, whilst Osasuna B plays its matches on the western pitch or Campo 1. This is identical to its partner, apart from the addition of four slim floodlight poles and a TV gantry positioned at the centre of the roof. Hardstanding at either end and in front of the complex’s headquarters gives Campo 1 at Tajonar a total capacity of 4,000.
From 1987 to the end of the 2012-13 season, Osasuna B had an unbroken stretch of 26 seasons in Segunda B. In truth, they rarely bothered the promotion or relegation positions, although they did reach the playoffs for La Segunda on two occasions. First, in 1990-91, they finished third in the playoff group featuring CP Mérida, Barcelona Atlético and CD Lugo. Five seasons later, they again finished third in a group containing Atlético Madrid B, UE Figueres and Real Jaén. Following the RFEF’s restructuring of the Spanish leagues in the summer of 2021, Osasuna B were placed in the Segunda Federación and won the title on their first time of asking. Thankfully, promotion was automatic, and the club has played the last three seasons back at their usual level of the third tier.
Osasuna’s Cantera at Tajonar has continually produced quality players for the club and beyond. Raúl García, Javi Martínez, César Azpilicueta & Mikel Merino are just a few of the players who have started out at Tajonar and gone on to the very top level of their profession. Osasuna’s commitment to developing its own players saw the club reach an agreement with Club Deportivo Subiza in 2020 to become its “C” team, effectively becoming a bridge between the academy and semi-professional football. It doesn’t stop there; In September 2024, Osasuna announced plans to expand Tajonar, which include a 5,000-seat stadium and a total of 12 pitches. The project is costed at €18m and is planned to commence in the summer of 2025 and be ready to host training for national teams at the 2030 World Cup.
Estadios de España 