Madrid, June 1: The cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián in Spain’s Basque region have officially decided to submit a joint bid to host matches for the FIFA World Cup 2030. This tournament will take place across Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Officials from both cities, along with the Basque regional government, announced on Monday that they have been diligently working for the past four years to become host cities for the World Cup. They plan to continue on this path in the upcoming phases.
According to Basque institutions, it was determined that instead of submitting separate bids, a single budget will be presented to FIFA through a consultation process between the two locations. This budget will outline the aspects they are prepared to fulfill, with the understanding that both venues will be considered as one host location. Each stadium will host two group-stage matches.
This move ends the separate bidding process for the Athletic Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium and Real Sociedad’s Anoeta Stadium as host sites for the World Cup. The two cities, located just 101 kilometers apart, will now collaborate on a unified bid.
The FIFA World Cup 2030 is set to witness several historic milestones. It will be the first time the World Cup is held in North Africa, marking its return to the continent since 2010. Additionally, it will be hosted in South America for the first time since 2014 and in Europe since 2018.
This World Cup will be unique as it will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Paraguay. Uruguay will host matches again after the inaugural World Cup in 1930, Argentina after 1978, and Spain after 1982. This tournament will be the most distinctive in football history, connecting three continents and six countries.
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