What happened this Saturday, April 17th, at the Santa Bárbara Municipal Pavilion was not just a handball match, it was a declaration of intent. Chinijos Ortopedia Carmen, with limited resources and a humble history, became the first Canary Islands club in the history of handball to win a half against Barça in a qualifying phase for the Spanish Championship.
The match, corresponding to Sector F of the 2024-2025 Men's Junior National Championship, pitted Chinijos Ortopedia Carmen against Barça, in a match where the Lanzarote team not only competed: they stayed ahead of the score for a large part of the match, made Barça sweat, and demonstrated that passion, hard work, and dedication can bridge any resource gap. The match ended 32-27 in favor of Barça, but the score does not reflect what really happened on the court.
“We were about to achieve it,” says an emotional Gonzalo Pérez Fatas, president and founder of the club, who arrived in Costa Teguise 12 years ago and decided to set up a handball team with a clear passion: to restore the importance that handball had years ago on the island. “For us, this match was an emotional victory. We have made history and we did it playing against one of the greats.”
Club Deportivo Chinijos de Costa Teguise was born with the aim of creating a sports space for the boys and girls of this town in Lanzarote, where handball had been forgotten. With hardly any economic resources, and training in the pavilion of the local institute, in the few hours available in that space, the club has grown little by little thanks to the selfless effort of families, coaches, and volunteers.
That collective effort became visible in the match, where there were moments of great tension, especially in the last minutes of the first half, where a controversial double expulsion left the Lanzarote team with only five players on the court for more than three minutes. This disadvantage was key for Barça to cut a 4-goal distance, and stay just one goal behind the conejero team. Even so, the Canary Islands team never lost its fighting spirit, maintaining the level until the final whistle.
The stands, full of emotion, experienced the match as if it were a professional final. Parents, young people, and coaches vibrated with each play. Despite the defeat, pride was the general feeling: a team from a small island in the Canary Islands managed to stand up to the giant of Spanish handball.
For the players of Chinijos Ortopedia Carmen, the match was much more than a sporting challenge. It was a lesson in self-esteem and overcoming obstacles. They showed that dreams have nothing to do with budgets or names, but with teamwork, preparation, and passion.
Club Deportivo Chinijos de Costa Teguise not only wants this story to inspire, but also wants to raise its voice for grassroots sports. “We need support. Not only us, but all the small clubs in Spain that struggle to survive with hardly any help. This match is an example of what we are capable of doing when we believe in local talent. But we need them to see us, listen to us, and support us.”
After the intensity of this match and a very competitive qualifying phase, Chinijos Ortopedia Carmen has finally managed to take third place in the group, closing its participation with a memorable performance that will be marked in the history of Canary Islands handball. Not only for the result, but for what it represents. Because this Saturday, handball once again proved that there is no small rival when the heart is big.
