Spain will withdraw as a co-host of the 2030 World Cup if it is not awarded the final, the country’s likely next prime minister, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, has warned.
The issue has placed a strain on relations between Spanish football chiefs and Fifa, amid suspicions that Morocco will be given the honour of staging the climax to the tournament.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco are the primary hosts in 2030 and the former, as reigning champions and home to one of the world’s top leagues, believes it should have primacy.
“Where should the 2030 World Cup final be held? Where it’s fair and appropriate, where it’s indisputable: in Spain,” Feijoo said.
“First, because Spain is capable of successfully organizing any sporting event; we’ve proven it. Second, because Spain and Portugal co-hosted the World Cup, and Morocco was later invited to host.
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SUBSCRIBE HERE“Third, because Spain is the world’s leading football power and the reigning world champion in both the men’s and women’s World Cups.
“Spain must host the World Cup final. And, if it doesn’t host it, in my opinion, Spain shouldn’t participate in organizing the World Cup.”
Asked directly whether he would take steps to withdraw Spain as a 2030 World Cup host if overlooked for the final, he said: “Yes, the answer is yes.”
Feijoo’s centre-right Partido Popular is the frontrunner for the snap election being held on 29 November but may be forced into a coalition with the hard-right Vox party.
The issue has become further politicised by recurring border and migration tensions between Spain and Morocco over the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.
Which stadiums could host 2030 World Cup final?
Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium would be the most likely choice if Spain is awarded the final, although Barcelona’s Camp Nou, currently undergoing renovation, is also a viable option.
Morocco is constructing its own crown jewel, the Grand Stade Hassan II near Casablanca, which will be the world’s largest football stadium, with 115,000 seats, when completed.
Fifa was forced to deny claims this year that Morocco had been promised the final in a secret deal with Gianni Infantino, calling them “false and misleading”.
The North African country has become increasingly significant in Fifa circles, however, and is expected to be the world governing body’s base for the tournament.
Infantino has built up a power base in Arabic countries as he seeks a fourth mandate as Fifa president next year and decamped there for crisis talks in August at the height of the backlash to his now-dropped plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
The 2030 World Cup is set to be the first played in three different continents, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay earmarked for an opening trio of games to mark the centenary event.
Uncertainty still reigns over several aspects of the tournament, however, not least the question of how many nations will take part.
Fifa expanded the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams this year and there is already lobbying to hike the number to 64 for 2030, a move that may allow more games in South America.
That suggestion would meet with fierce resistance from Europe and Asia, though, with Uefa in particular said to be unwilling to even consider another Fifa land-grab.