Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, with a 22,824-seat capacity.

The club managed to finish as high as fifth in the league table on two occasions during that period, which qualified them for the first round of the UEFA Cup.

In 1991, Jorge Valdano took charge of the club as manager, and the Argentine would help rob former side Real Madrid of two consecutive league titles in the last round, to the benefit of Barcelona.

In the first season, the Canary Islands outfit barely avoided relegation, but would finish in a best-ever fifth position in the following year, eventually reaching the round of 16 in the subsequent UEFA Cup, losing to Juventus 2–4 on aggregate.

German Jupp Heynckes became head coach of Tenerife in 1995, leading the club to another fifth-placed finish and the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

Pepe Mel became the new trainer but the first division season never took off, as Tenerife were beaten heavily at home by Barcelona 0–6, which cost the manager his job.

President Pérez was replaced with Víctor Perez de Ascanio, who resigned due to bad management, leaving his position to Miguel Concepción, who negotiated with local politicians and businessmen, also creating a construction company as a subsidiary of the side.