According to diariovasco.com, this marked the first visit by representatives from world football’s governing body since Basque institutions shifted their strategy in the summer to propose a joint candidacy featuring two stadiums: Anoeta in San Sebastián and San Mamés in Bilbao.
Basque Institutions Submit Joint Bid for Four Matches
The updated proposal aims to host four group-stage matches split evenly between the two venues, with two games played in each stadium. The Ayuntamiento of Donostia and Bilbao, the provincial councils of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, the Basque Government, alongside Real Sociedad and Athletic Club, submitted an official document to FIFA communicating su voluntad de continuar en el proceso
to be a joint venue for the 2030 World Cup, rather than separately as before, with a proposal that limited some of their demands.
Local institutions calculated the operational cost of participating in the tournament at €40 million. That figure excludes necessary investments in infrastructure, security, transport, technology, and facility adaptations, such as the recent expansion of Anoeta to 42,247 seats. Officials also weighed the impact that hosting matches during the summer months would have on the country’s regular cultural and sporting calendar.
Infrastructure Inspections at Reale Arena
The working session began at 10:00 local time with a general meeting involving municipal technicians, Real Sociedad representatives, and the FIFA delegation, before breaking into specialized rooms covering finance, transport, accommodation, and infrastructure. The delegation inspected the Reale Arena, which opened in 1993 to replace the former Atotxa stadium. Between 2017 and 2019, the venue underwent a €78.6 million renovation that removed the running track and increased capacity from 32,000 to 40,000 seats.
planomato.com noted that Real Sociedad had previously planned an additional round of construction starting in May 2026 to add roughly 2,000 seats ahead of the tournament. The venue features the club’s museum and hosted its opening under the banner of the “Kaixo Anoeta” celebration.
Broader Inspection Schedule Across Spain
The visit to Donostia forms part of a wider evaluation sweep. According to donostitik.com, FIFA officials are visiting at least nine candidate cities across Spain in November and December, including Bilbao and Donostia, to select the venues for the 2030 World Cup, in a round that will also lead its emissaries to inspect various territories in Portugal and Morocco. The official Spanish candidate list includes Barcelona, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Madrid, San Sebastián, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, with EFE reporting that Valencia and Vigo are also slated for inclusion.
Following the afternoon meetings, which concluded around 17:00 local time, the FIFA delegation departed for Bilbao. Representatives from the governing body did not comment on the Basque request for a unified joint candidacy, maintaining that the autumn stop was strictly a technical assessment of Gipuzkoa’s infrastructure and logistical readiness.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco Lead 2030 Tournament Bid
This process will help FIFA make its decisions on the final choice of venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, for which Spain, Portugal, and Morocco form a joint bid. The tripartite candidacy of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco was officially presented on June 4, 2021, in an event featuring King Felipe VI, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and heads of government Pedro Sánchez and António Costa. On October 4, 2023, Gianni Infantino confirmed that the three countries would host the tournament following an agreement between UEFA, CAF, and Conmebol. Rounding out the map are the Moroccan cities of Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat, and Tangier, alongside the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto. Barcelona features the Spotify Camp Nou, with a projected capacity of 105,000 spectators following ongoing renovations, and Madrid features the Santiago Bernabéu, with 85,000 also under construction.
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