2030 World Cup : Spain makes things more difficult for Morocco!

AS reports visits to the two Spanish cities absent from the list published by FIFA on Tuesday

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2030 World Cup : Spain makes things more difficult for Morocco!

Valencia and Vigo are set to be included in the inspection schedule, but their absence from FIFA’s statement calls for a distinction regarding the 2030 World Cup.

Valencia and Vigo remain at the heart of discussions over the venues for the 2030 World Cup. According to AS, the two Spanish cities will receive a FIFA delegation during the selection process. Yet they do not appear among the fifteen cities named in the statement published on Tuesday, 27 October. This discrepancy alone is not enough to invalidate the newspaper’s report.

Fifteen cities named, a list that may change

FIFA has scheduled inspections for November and December 2026. Its programme mentions six cities in Morocco: Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat and Tangier. Seven are listed in Spain: Barcelona, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Madrid, San Sebastián, Zaragoza and Seville. Lisbon and Porto complete the list in Portugal.

Valencia and Vigo do not appear on it. However, the governing body states that it “reserves the right to visit other venues during the stadium selection process”. The statement therefore does not rule out additional inspections, without explicitly naming these two stops.

A Spanish announcement made before the statement

However, the information is not based solely on this FIFA reservation. As early as 9 October, Rafael Louzán, president of the Spanish Football Federation, had announced visits to Valencia and Vigo before the end of the year, in remarks reported by Europa Press.

The official had also urged caution, as technicians were due to examine the Nou Mestalla and its delivery schedule. On 27 October, EFE and Europa Press also reported on the two visits, alongside AS’s article.

It is therefore necessary to distinguish between an announcement by the Spanish federation, reported by several media outlets, and a named confirmation in the statement issued by the world governing body.

An inspection does not guarantee matches

Even if the two cities are inspected, their final selection would not be automatic. The delegations must assess the stadiums, transport, accommodation and operational arrangements, in coordination with the authorities and local stakeholders.

Another important distinction is that the number of cities visited does not determine the number of stadiums selected, nor the distribution of matches between the countries. FIFA states that the volume and type of matches allocated to each venue will be decided after the host cities have been confirmed.

These stages also concern the discussions surrounding the final venue. For Valencia and Vigo, the challenge therefore remains to pass the technical assessment before they can hope to host the competition.

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