A meeting was held at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters yesterday to discuss the sustainability of the bid, led by Antonio Laranjo, the coordinator of the bid.  

Representatives of the RFEF, Portugal Football Association (FPF) and the Governments of both countries, alongside COE members including its President Alejandro Blanco, were in attendance.

The RFEF, FPF and the COE are already working to establish a Sustainability Strategy for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The organisations are hoping the strategy will go above and beyond FIFA’s requirements and criteria and will create a sustainable football model that will mark a before and after in the World Championships and other international sports events.

In September 2022, the COE presented a Manifesto for Sustainability, to which the RFEF adhered.

At its most recent General Assembly the RFEF approved its own Environmental and Social Sustainability Strategy, which has established some of the RFEF’s sustainability policies with a view to the joint FIFA World Cup bid.

A South American bid including Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile is set to rival the Iberian bid.   

At a FIFA Council meeting last month a decision was taken to postpone the formal launch of the bidding process to host the 2030 edition.

Last month, Amnesty International published the results of a survey that called for FIFA to implement “the highest human rights standards” when assessing bids for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The next men’s FIFA World Cup is due to take place in 2026, and is set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It is due to be the first edition of the tournament to feature 48 teams, with 104 matches scheduled.