Fernando Sanz, the head of the RFEF in charge of Spain’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030 along with Morocco and Portugal, has lamented that there is «no possibility» of Spain hosting the football final of the event. He emphasized that «first there has to be the option to host it» and that they are still in «other steps, long before that,» in addition to stating that since it involves three countries, decisions have to be made «without hurting sensitivities and with a lot of tact.»
«Being a joint bid with Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, it is quite complex. And especially with all the immediacy of information, the rush that people have, for example, in Spain, to say yes to the final, yes to the quarterfinals, ‘And what about the semifinals, and what about the venues and we are in a much earlier time than all these things,» Sanz warned at the Forum Empresa Deporte organized by Marca and Expansión.
The executive emphasized that «you have to climb the steps one by one because if you climb them all at once, you will fall» and explained that now, first of all, they have to «submit a file by July 31st.» «And we cannot talk about the final, because first there has to be an option to host it,» he warned.
«You have to meet all the requirements that FIFA asks for the venues to be official. In addition, this file will be voted on in December and then those steps will come where we will talk about the finals, the venues, many things,» he added.
The RFEF’s International Business Development Director urged to «do the work in private.» «It is a very technical job because people only focus on the venues, but around a World Cup there is security, transportation, or health, it is a huge task and on top of that the complexity of doing it with three countries, and ours, because there are public stadiums, others private, and you have to knock on many doors and sign many agreements and commitments,» he commented.
«Many times the press asks for caution because they talk about losing the World Cup final. No, we are much earlier in other steps, which are a bit more difficult and not very pleasant to talk about,» Fernando Sanz stated on the matter.
The former footballer also stated that they want this World Cup to be a «sustainable investment.» «We come from a World Cup in Qatar where more than 200,000 million were invested in stadiums and infrastructure and we are lucky that we already have that infrastructure,» he clarified.
«Yes, a series of reforms need to be carried out both in the public and private spheres, that’s why we want a sustainable investment to be able to take advantage of the spaces we already have and not those pharaonic investments that we come from the past,» emphasized the bid coordinator.
The former president of Málaga insisted that «it must be taken into account that there are many other things that depend on being able to organize a World Cup, such as the venues or the training fields, which will leave a legacy for all the new teams and generations, and that is something of tremendous importance,» he emphasized.
«The stadium will be very important for that legacy and for these new generations to continue consuming football, not only professional football, but amateur football, which is what, at the end of the day, will nurture and continue giving life to our professional football,» he added.
Furthermore, Fernando Sanz does not forget that the celebration of the event «will generate many new jobs and a lot of wealth in the field of sports and football» in Spain, but he emphasized that although the focus is «always on the Spanish side,» they go hand in hand with Portugal and Morocco. «All decisions must be joint, without hurting feelings and with a lot of tact,» he expressed.
For the RFEF director, «television rights are now the biggest source of income» for events like the World Cup, but now a lot of importance is being placed on new «experiences» for the fans. «To give you an idea of how important it is in a World Cup, according to FIFA’s requirements, each stadium has to have one or as an alternative to being a World Cup stadium,» explained Sanz.
The former player does not forget that football «is the sport par excellence» and that is why it has a «historical following» that he believes «will continue to endure,» although this prevents him from relaxing «because I have to continue making sure that those masses or those people continue consuming your product.»
And a big part of this work involves «conditioning stadiums» and «building new generation stadiums.» «Not at the level of the Bernabéu, but stadiums that we see are modernizing. The ones from my time now have no business, we see dressing rooms that look like five-star hotels, something that I would have liked in my time to have,» he said with a smile.
«This catches the eye, but it also has its disadvantage because among these requirements that FIFA asks for is that the dressing rooms are exactly the same, which we have seen situations where stadiums have been modernized, but that is a problem when it comes to making these reforms to be able to host the World Cup,» Fernando Sanz affirmed.
