Spain front-runner to host 2035 Rugby World Cup with final at Nou Camp
Spain has emerged as the frontrunner to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup, with an ambitious bid that includes staging the final at a revamped 105,000-capacity Nou Camp in Barcelona.
The Spanish Rugby Federation (RFER) has submitted its bid to World Rugby and faces competition from Japan and a South American bid, centred in Argentina.
The RFER is promising to deliver “the most commercially successful Rugby World Cup ever” and projected ticket sales would exceed three million for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Significantly, the bid has the support of La Liga, which will allow the tournament to use seven major football stadiums, all of which are being upgraded for the 2030 Fifa World Cup, including the Nou Camp, the home of Barcelona. The prospect of staging the first final in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 supporters would also be a first in the history of the tournament.
The stadium long list includes the Santiago Bernabeu and the Metropolitano in Madrid, the Mestalla in Valencia and San Mames in Bilbao.
It is understood that no other European country has declared an interest. With the deadline now closed for submissions and World Rugby keen for the tournament to return to Europe after staging it in Australia next year and the United States in 2031, Spain’s offering will be an attractive one.
Japan, which hosted the tournament in 2019, would be a strong commercial option, but faces an issue with ageing stadiums, as does the South American bid, which would also face much greater logistical challenges given that the games would be spread across the continent.
The Spanish bid will be regarded by many stakeholders as the option that combines taking the tournament to a new territory while also delivering a strong commercial return.
The RFER says it has a strong financial commitment from the Spanish Government to host the tournament and drive a legacy investment, and the European broadcast timezone would drive a 25% uplift in revenue for World Rugby.
There would be five host clusters – in the Basque Country, Catalunya, Madrid, Valencia and Andalusia – with no host city more than two hours from another and an estimated 96 million rugby fans within a three-hour flight of the country.
Spain hopes to grow interest in the sport by bidding for the Champions and Challenge Cup finals to be staged in Madrid in 2029, and the Top 14 final in Barcelona in 2030.
The Spanish Federation also regards the bid as key to growing the game, with a target of tripling participation to 120,000 grassroots players by 2035.
“The warmth, openness and desire to share moments with others that characterise our country fit perfectly with the spirit that a Rugby World Cup creates,” said Juan Carlos Martín “Hansen”, the executive president of the RFER.
“Over the past two decades, our commitment to rugby has led to extraordinary progress, and the next nine years could mark a step change for the sport across Spain.
“World Rugby has established this tournament as the pinnacle of our sport, and it is a great honour for Spain to bid to host it.
“Rugby is becoming part of our country’s identity. Working together with World Rugby, we can make Rugby World Cup 2035 a turning point in the global growth of the sport, for the benefit of generations to come.”
Site visits and feasibility assessments by World Rugby are set to take place from December, and a preferred candidate is expected to be identified by late spring/early summer next year. A formal announcement is provisionally expected to take place during the tournament in Australia next autumn.
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