BARCELONA’S renovated Camp Nou could be used to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup.
Spain are bidding to win the rights to host the prestigious competition, which could return to Europe after being held in Australia in 2027 and the USA four years later.
FC BarcelonaThe revamped Camp Nou will have a 105,000 capacity[/caption]
ReutersThe refurbishment has been ongoing for almost two years[/caption]
FC BarcelonaThe Camp Nou could host the rugby and football World Cup finals[/caption]
To boost their bid Spain are hopeful of using famous stadiums to persuade World Rugby.
That means Real Madrid‘s Bernabeu and the new-look Camp Nou could host Rugby World Cup matches.
One will likely be used to host the final of the 2030 football World Cup too, which will take place primarily in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Barcelona have spent almost two years and £1.25billion revamping their stadium, which will have a 105,000 capacity once completed.
Spain are expected to compete with Italy for the 2035 World Cup, although have not featured as a participant in the competition since 1999.
World Rugby chair Brett Robinson said of their bid: “Spain is interesting because it’s an extension of the European market, 50 million people, quality stadiums, passionate support and culture.
“And their high-performance investment and focus in recent years has been at a pace where you’ve got two teams in [the Hong Kong sevens] tournament who are really competitive.
“The men’s team has qualified for the 2027 World Cup, the women’s World Cup this year. Is there a European competition where you do something with Italy, with the UK?”
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LaLiga will also play an important role in determining the success of the bid as they will have to re-arrange league fixtures to accommodate World Cup matches being played in Spanish stadia.
World Rugby’s chief executive, Alan Gilpin, said: “The Spanish federation and Spanish government have had conversations with La Liga.
“When we’ve had tournaments before in England or in France in 2023, there’s been that conversation about we need you, Tottenham, to play two matches away in a row. It’s the same conversation with Spain.
“As we understand it, it’s with La Liga about whether they would support [it] and it seems to be [the case].
“We took some big strategic decisions a few years ago to go men’s and women’s in Australia and the same in the USA.
“We’ve now got to think about the balance and whether we bring 2035 and 2037 back to Europe. It’s almost like a regional rotation.
“We’ve never had that discussion strategically in World Rugby before but that’s probably the way the discussion has got to go and then maybe the Middle East needs that time until 2039, maybe they’re competing with Japan for an Asian rotation in 2039.
“None of that is set in stone but the kind of mindset we’re starting to have is, we made a big, bold move with the US and we’re doing a hell of a lot of work in the US market, do we come back to Europe and then go to Asia again?”
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