2030 World Cup Final Should Be at Camp Nou or Bernabeu: RFEF President

Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol (RFEF), i.e., the Royal Spanish Football Federation President, Rafael Louzan has made it clear that Spain will fight to host the 2030 World Cup final. The iconic stadiums - Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu are both in contention.

Spain, along with Morocco and Portugal have been chosen as the co-hosts of the 2030 rendition of the Football World Cup with a few opening games also set to be played in Uruguay and Argentina.

As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Louzan said he has full confidence that the final of the tournament, which will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal will be played on Spanish soil. He said - “The World Cup final has to be at Camp Nou or at the Bernabeu.”

Bernabeu is a spectacular stadium

Louzan also explained why Spain believes it deserves to host the 2030 edition of the World Cup final ahead of the Casablanca stadium in Morocco. He said, “It would not be understood if Spain were not the venue for the World Cup Final. There can be no doubt that Spain has to host the final because this World Cup was born in Spain, between Spain and Portugal, and Morocco joined later.”

He acknowledged that FIFA will make the final decision, but also praised Madrid’s stadium directly. “The choice of the final venue has to be assessed by FIFA. Madrid’s stadium is spectacular, Barcelona’s is being finished and it is true that it will have a difference of 25,000 more spectators, and that is not a minor detail, it is an important detail.” He further added.

Los Blancos make a strong case

From Real Madrid’s perspective, the Bernabeu has an obvious argument. It is modern, central, globally iconic and it is already associated with the biggest nights in club football. Also, Camp Nou’s higher seating capacity may be a big factor in Barcelona’s favour, but the Burnabeu offers a completed, elite venue in the capital city of Spain.

Louzan’s words are also important as they indicate the Spanish Federation’s priority is to first beat the Moroccan candidacy. The internal Spanish battle between Barcelona and Madrid will come after that.

He added, “The final word belongs to FIFA and we are going to defend Spain’s interests. Spain has to be the venue for the final, it has led this World Cup, we have 55% weight in the organisation."

The Bernabeu should get the nod ahead of the Camp Nou, as it is a finished product, whereas Barcelona’s stadium would still be chosen based on promise. It might be too big a risk to schedule a World Cup final at a stadium likely to be finished just a year and a half before the tournament itself.

It remains to be seen whether Spain get the nod to host the final, and let us hope that the selected arena is the Santiago Bernabeu.