We live in a period in football where many clubs are deciding to rebrand and change crests full of detail and history for a more minimalistic look. Luckily for the more traditional fans UD Las Palmas stands against this trend and has one of the most complex crests in the sport today.
In the center of the crest, surrounded by a white border, are the cities’ municipal arms granted to the club by the city mayor of the time. However, below it, is the most interesting part. If you look closely you’ll see five smaller crests of five different clubs within the Las Palmas crest.
This is due to the fact that UD Las Palmas is the result of a merger of 5 different clubs from the island of Gran Canaria: Marino FC, Real Club Victoria, Arenas Club, Atletico Las Palmas and CD Gran Canaria. The clubs decided to fuse in order to survive the financial hardships caused by the Spanish Civil War and to be able to afford the constant trips to mainland Spain for away matches.
Lastly, you’ll notice that Las Palmas also has a crown on top of its crest, an honor given by the Spanish monarchy which usually also accompanies the prefix “Real”, or “Royal” in spanish. UD Las Palmas was never directly given this honor but inherited it from one of its founding clubs Real Victoria.