José Daniel Díaz Armas (Tacoronte, 1975) has been appointed as the new president of the Tenerife Sports Club. He joined the primary governing body of the institution on Tuesday, filling the position reserved for the previous head, Miguel Concepción, who is also his father-in-law.
Having been elected mayor of his hometown in 2019 through Nueva Canarias, with support from the PSOE and you can, this professional faces the challenge of steering the blue and white club towards recovery and implementing essential reforms to redirect the club’s trajectory, with a descent into non-professional football looming as a likely outcome, necessitating an austerity plan and budget cuts. In this context, a redundancy file (ERE) appears certain, among other measures, to mitigate the impacts of the anticipated fall of the Tenerife team to First RFEF.
Díaz is not only a supporter but also a member and shareholder of the club. He has a profound emotional connection to Tenerife and aims to prioritise the club above factions or families that may exist within the Board. He will need to operate as a mediator and consensus-builder to minimise conflicts. Notably, in the board of directors, the second shareholder Rayco García Cabrera will hold a majority after Samuel Gómez Abril (a trusted ally of Amid Achi) was dismissed on Tuesday, and Francisco Mares, who has ties to the local business community, was barred from joining the Board.
“We must strive for mutual understanding, particularly on this matter. Although each member arrived at the Board through varied paths, our commitment now is to Tenerife. Once appointed as administrators, we must act with diligence and loyalty. We must put personal interests aside. Everything previously stated is now in the past; we represent Tenerife,” stated the mayor of Tacoronte prior to the inaugural meeting of the new board of directors, which convened this morning at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López facilities.
According to Díaz, the events at the tumultuous general meeting on Tuesday “could be promising if there is unity.” He emphasised “the excellent news” regarding participation levels. “Now there is a directive that needs to be communicated, and I will state it plainly: we cannot serve as anyone’s executing arms. Our loyalty and diligence are directed towards the club. We must act responsibly and with purpose,” he concluded.
José Daniel Díaz will succeed Paulino Rivero, who had a significantly different role than he might have desired, lacking executive power and with restricted authority due to the confidential agreement signed in 2022 by the club’s majority shareholder, José Miguel Garrido, with three local entrepreneurs who had nominated him for the position. This same parasocial agreement granted Miguel Concepción and his associates the right to elect the president, a privilege that has been upheld, despite Rayco García’s exclusion from this arrangement. In truth, the businessman from Santa Úrsula chose not to expose himself and to defer his ambitions in representation for now. Currently, he will oversee the club’s management but without being its primary figure. “I have invested considerable money in the club to become its president, but perhaps not now; perhaps at a future date,” he had communicated on the day of the unexpected extraordinary general meeting held at the Hotel School.
The Week of Seísos in Tenerife has wrapped up with the resignation – for personal reasons – of one of García Cabrera’s associates. His lawyer, Octavio Cabrera, leaves the Board after fulfilling his last service to the blue and white cause, which involved orchestrating and moderating the recent assembly. Even though Ayoze García chaired the meeting, Cabrera was effectively the legal advisor leading the Board. This marks the second consecutive resignation from Rayco’s faction, following the departure of Sandro Arrufat, who delivered an impassioned and coherent speech upon his exit, advocating for unity.
The Board of Directors now consists of Ayoe García Pérez as vice president, the new member Antonio Manuel Porro Granados, who takes over from Octavio Cabrera Toste (who resigned for personal reasons) will serve as secretary, and will include Rayco García Cabrera and Francisco Miguel Heredia Fuentes, who will act as board members.
