Valencia and Vigo Officially Protest Exclusion from the List of 2030 World Cup Venues, Urging Spanish FA to Revoke Decision

The Spanish Football Federation has recently submitted its bid to FIFA for the 2030 World Cup along with a list of 11 host cities, with Vigo and Valencia notably absent. This decision has sparked controversy in Spain, with both Vigo and Valencia’s local authorities expressing strong dissatisfaction and requesting that the Spanish Football Federation reconsider the venue selection.

According to an agreement reached by Spain, FIFA, and co-hosts Portugal and Morocco, Spain will provide 11 venues, specifically: two in Madrid, two in Barcelona, and one each in Bilbao, San Sebastián, La Coruña, Zaragoza, Seville, Málaga, and the Canary Islands. Both Vigo and Valencia have protested this decision, arguing that they should not have been excluded.

The Vigo City Council launched a scathing attack on the Spanish Football Federation, elevating the issue to a higher level. Deputy Mayor Pardo stated forcefully in a press release: “We submitted a solid bidding project. It is well known that Vigo is a city with sufficient budget and organizational capabilities. The partisan views of Mr. Luis, Vice President of the Spanish Football Federation, have led us to question his motives. Everyone in Vigo knows Mr. Luis holds a strong opposition to anything related to this city. From the perspective of the Vigo City Council, we demand a reasonable explanation. The council has not received any official notification from the Spanish Football Federation. We are asking the federation to maintain fairness in its decisions and continue the fight to host the World Cup across 13 venues. From our standpoint, we will do everything in our power to continue defending Vigo’s proposal.”

Valencia CF issued a firm statement, saying: “This news means that Spain’s third-largest city has lost out on the most important football event. The construction permit for the new Mestalla Stadium has already been granted, with a timeframe for execution fully aligned with the time requirements set by FIFA for candidate host cities for the World Cup. Yet, we have been treated in this manner today.”

The Valencian regional government and the city council of Valencia also responded, stating in a press release: “The Valencian City Council and the Valencian Regional Government signed and submitted all documents from the beginning, fully supporting Valencia’s bid to become a host city for the World Cup.” Municipal leaders called for: “We have ample time to participate in the World Cup. We hope that the Spanish government, through the Higher Sports Council, will reconsider this matter since what has been published so far is the federation’s decision, not the final decision of the Spanish government.”