The deputy and the parliamentarian from Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista, Yoné Caraballo and Esther González, presented this Monday the non-legal proposition for the plenary session that begins this Tuesday, which demands the return of the Canary Islands Football Team, both female and male, as an expression of Canarian pride, as a living symbol of unity, and a commitment to youth and the international projection of the Archipelago through its participation in competitions and tournaments as an invited team.
The proposal is presented coinciding with the celebration, on October 22, of Canary National Flag Day. Caraballo highlighted that the non-legal proposition has a marked identity character. "It goes beyond sports because it represents who we are and what we want to project from this corner of the Atlantic to the rest of the world," Caraballo said.
"Our flag," according to the NC-BC parliamentarian, represents "social justice, the labor struggle, sustainability, culture, and identity." Sport, and especially soccer, Caraballo emphasized, "is also part of that expression of what we are as a people."
He recalled, significantly, the last time the Canary Islands team played a match in 2007 against Angola in the Gran Canaria stadium. "It was a real popular celebration," he emphasized. Families, children, elders, people from El Hierro, Lanzarote, La Palma, and Tenerife, among others, "all united under the same flag. It was proof that there is a real, sincere, and lasting demand to see the Canary Islands also recognized in the sports field," he said.
The deputy from the progressive nationalist group explained that this initiative does not seek a simple symbolic gesture, but a strategic, social, and emotional decision. "Re-launching the Canary Islands National Team is to strengthen the cohesion of the Canarian people, give visibility to our soccer players, and offer our youth a reason for shared pride," he remarked.
Figures
He mentioned historical figures of Canarian football such as Juanito Guedes, Tonono, Germán Dévora, Valerón, Silva, Pedro, and Rubén Castro. Alongside current references such as Misa Rodríguez, Pedri, Paola Hernández, Moleiro, Kirian Rodríguez, and Jeremy Pino.
"To imagine a team with this talent defending the colors of our eight islands would be a symbol of unity and hope, a reflection of the best of ourselves," argued Yoné Caraballo.
He recalled that, in various parts of the world, there are stateless nations that participate as invited teams in continental tournaments. "The Canary Islands can and should aspire to that as well. We have history, identity, talent, and a society that feels football as something of its own and profound," he said.
The non-legal proposition asks the Government of the Canary Islands to act decisively and bravely to establish a stable structure for the Canary Islands Football Team, both male and female, that has institutional support and serves as a social, cultural, and economic engine, strengthening the pride of belonging and the international projection of the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands, in the opinion of NC-BC, need "living symbols that remind us who we are and what we can achieve." Betting on the Canarian national team is "betting on our youth, on our culture, and on the right of this people to occupy the place it deserves in Spain and in the world. Because the Canary Islands doesn't just want to compete. The Canary Islands wants to represent, to excite, and to unite," said Yoné Caraballo.
