Spain Confirms Locations for the Year World Cup; Two Major Cities Left Out

According to Spain’s Mundo Deportivo, Spain will submit its bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup to FIFA by July 31st of this year. The bid includes a proposal involving collaboration with Morocco and Portugal, as well as a list of eleven planned venues. Initially, the Spanish government had proposed including Vigo and Valencia among the candidate cities but ultimately decided against it, leaving the number of venues at eleven.

In a recent meeting, it was confirmed that the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium would host the World Cup final, a clear requirement from FIFA. Despite efforts by both the Spanish government and football federation to increase the number of host cities, Vigo and Valencia were not officially included due to various uncertainties and concerns about whether the venues could meet high standards.

The Galician region had hoped to have two cities host World Cup matches, while Valencia, as a major city on Spain’s eastern coast and the country’s third-largest city, also expressed a strong interest in hosting.

Now, the final decision has been made. In line with the consensus reached between FIFA, Portugal, and Morocco, Spain’s venues will be limited to eleven, distributed as follows: two in Madrid, two in Barcelona, and one each in Bilbao, San Sebastián, La Coruña, Zaragoza, Seville, Málaga, and Gran Canaria Island.

Currently, the Santiago Bernabéu, Wanda Metropolitano, Camp Nou, San Mamés, and Reale Arena are largely ready, requiring only minor improvements. The new Camp Nou is under construction, and the construction of the Romareda Stadium has just begun. If approved by FIFA, renovations will be necessary for the Riazor, Cartuja, La Rosaleda, and Gran Canaria Island stadiums to meet the standards required for World Cup matches.

The bid documents for the 2030 World Cup must be submitted to FIFA by July 31st, after which FIFA officials will review them and decide whether to accept the joint bid from Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. Before FIFA takes over, these cities must meet a series of strict conditions, which led to some being excluded from hosting duties.