Two visits, two important declarations. The president of the Supreme Sports Council visited Estadio Balaídos to support the olive city's World Cup aspirations and ensure that there are no “substitute hosts”. In Valencia, the new president of the club appeared at the Nou Mestalla construction site to promise that the stadium will be delivered on time.

World Cup mathematics

Vigo has to be [at the World Cup - editors’ note] and Valencia too, stated the president of the Supreme Sports Council (CSD), José Uribes, during his visit at Estadio Abanca Balaídos on Wednesday. Spain has 13 cities and 13 clubs that want to be hosts, he stressed, and reminded that he represents the Spanish government’s position.

According to Uribes, it is not possible to talk about substitute hosts and splitting the matches between the 13 venues is feasible. I have already spoken with FIFA, the CSD president assured, although he indicated that it is still early to talk about final decisions. However, both the international federation and the Spanish federation (RFEF), believe that the selected cities are not 13, but 11; this is also the number of cities that was chosen at the FIFA congress. Nevertheless, the CSD president has promised to persuade both institutions to support his point of view.

© RFEF | RFEF president Rafael Louzán (left) and CSD president José Uribes (right) come from two opposing parties, PP and PSOE. In the picture, they discuss preparations for the World Cup during a meeting on 24 February.

Olive city affair

During his visit to Vigo, Uribes supported mayor Abel Caballero's demand towards the RFEF to publish the scores of all candidate cities. Caballero demanded the release of the documents after being told by the vice-president of Galicia that the city had not been elected because of a lack of local government influence. The mayor found the words scandalous, but also contradictory, as in February RFEF president Rafael Louzán had said that Balaídos' problem was low capacity, while according to the mayor himself, the federation staff had explained that it was a matter of problems with financing the project.

The CSD president also called Balaídos an amazing stadium that must be at the 2030 World Cup, and pointed out that, thanks to the ongoing redevelopment it is in a better position than stadiums that are just waiting to start work, and it only lacks an increase in the number of seats in the stands.

With the planned modernisation we will reach the 43,000 seats net and 45,000 gross required by FIFA, the mayor assured, stressing that Vigo is the only city among the candidates with zero debt. According to visualisations presented two years ago, the Tribuna stand would be rebuilt (again), increasing capacity to around 31,000 seats. All the rest - more than 10 000 seats - would be achieved with temporary stands.

New president, new cave for the Bats

Unlike Vigo, Valencia can count on clear support from the federation, whose president has been on a diplomatic offensive since the beginning of his term to include the city in the World Cup. Louzán, however, does not want to expand the number of hosts, so he recently proposed that Valencia could replace one of the selected cities.

Less uncompromising is the head of the CSD, who, speaking of Valencia's candidacy, pointed out that the city faces an even bigger challenge than Vigo - completing Nou Mestalla. But if they succeed, I think it is obvious that the third city in Spain should host the World Cup, he added.

On the same day, Valencia published a statement and photos of the visit to the construction site by the club's new president, 31-year-old Kiat Lim, son of the Bats' owner Peter Lim. One of his most important tasks will be the completion of the Nou Mestalla. The new stadium will be inaugurated in 2027, assures the club.

The mayor of Valencia herself, however, is wary of these words. If they just meet the deadline, they will deliver on their promises. And if they don't, they know the consequences, warned María José Catalá.

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