World Cup 2030: Mestalla and Balaidos still in play after 3 federations meet

29.06.2024 21:21 source: StadiumDB.com; author: Miguel Ciołczyk Garcia

Reports from a meeting of the Spanish, Portuguese and Moroccan federations in Agadir indicate a lack of a final agreement. Spain, after excluding Murcia and Gijon from the race, is seeking to increase the number of host cities in order to include Valencia and Vigo in the list of World Cup’s hosts.

11 selected

Yesterday we reported the chances of individual stadiums to host the 2030 World Cup and the upgrades they must undergo to do so. According to various sources, a meeting of the Spanish (RFEF), Portuguese (FPF) and Moroccan (FRMF) federations in Agadir, Morocco, confirmed the predicted failure of the candidacy of Nueva Condomina (Murcia). The venue along with El Molinón (Gijon) drops out of the race to host the World Cup.

The list of already approved stadiums is not yet official, but if nothing unforeseen happens, Spain's venues for the 2030 World Cup will be:

Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid)
Spotify Camp Nou (Barcelona)
Cívitas Metropolitano (Madrid)
La Cartuja (Seville)
San Mamés (Bilbao)
Stage Front Stadium (Barcelona)
Reale Arena (San Sebastián)
La Romareda (Zaragoza)
Abanca-Riazor (La Coruña)
Estadio Gran Canaria (Las Palmas)
La Rosaleda (Málaga)

Two question marks

And what unforeseen things might happen? As we reported, the RFEF would like to increase the number of Spanish arenas to 12 or even 13, to include Nou Mestalla (Valencia) or Abanca Balaídos (Vigo). AS reports that FIFA is willing to accept this proposal, but conditions its approval on a green light from the FPF and FRMF.

Apparently, at least one of the federations has reservations, as reports from Agadir indicate a disagreement. Increasing the number of arenas could be seen as an imbalance between the event's hosts.

Opposition may also arise from the already record number of tournament venues. With the inclusion of matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, 48 teams will play 104 matches in as many as 23 stadiums.

The time to make a final decision is July 31, so the coming month will be crucial for the Spanish cities, but also for the battle for the finals.