Spain and Portugal 2018 initiated an official joint Iberian bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) invited its member associations to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 final tournaments, or both. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) submitted together a bid for both editions, but with the focus on winning the privilege to host the 2018 finals. Due to the withdrawal of all non-European bids for the 2018 edition, the Spanish-Portuguese bid, and that of all other European bidding nations, were effectively considered ineligible for the 2022 campaign.

On December 2, 2010, after a vote of the FIFA Executive Committee at its headquarters in Zürich, the Iberian bid lost the 2018 hosting rights to Russia, in a two-round voting, collecting seven votes against Russian's thirteen in the final round.

Schedule

DateNotes15 January 2009 Applications formally invited2 February 2009Closing date for registering intention to bid16 March 2009Deadline to submit completed bid registration forms14 May 2010Deadline for submission of full details of bid30 August-2 September 2010Inspection committee visits Portugal/Spain2 December 2010FIFA to appoint hosts for 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Details Eighteen venues across sixteen cities in Spain made the final bid package as potential host venues for the tournament. In Portugal, only the two most populous cities - Lisbon (2 venues) and Porto - earned a place in the final bid package. In all likelihood, based on the assumption that FIFA allows twelve venues for the tournament, nine venues would be allocated to Spain and the remaining three would go to Portugal.

Potential venues

Submitted bid venues The following are the 21 venues that were submitted to FIFA on 14 May 2010 as part of the FPF–RFEF's bid to host the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup:

Barcelona, Spain Madrid, Spain Valencia, Spain Madrid, Spain Lisbon, Portugal Sevilla, Spain Camp NouaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Camp Nou Santiago BernabéuaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Santiago Bernabéu Nou MestallaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Mestalla Wanda MetropolitanoIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Etadio de Madrid Estádio da LuzbIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estádio da Luz La CartujaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla FC Barcelona, Spain Real Madrid, Spain Valencia CF (New Stadium) Atlético Madrid, Spain S.L. Benfica, Portugal Capacity: 100,000 Capacity: 80,354 Capacity: 75,000 (partially constructed) Capacity: 73,000 Capacity: 65,647 Capacity: 57,580 Barcelona, Spain Bilbao, Spain Porto, Portugal Lisbon, Portugal Zaragoza, Spain Badajoz, Spain Lluís CompanysIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys San Mamés BarriaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo San Mamés Barria Estádio do DragãobIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estádio do Dragão Estádio José AlvaladebIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estádio José Alvalade Nuevo Estadio de San JoséIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Estadio de San José Estadio Nuevo ViveroIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Vivero Athletic Bilbao (New Stadium) F.C. Porto Sporting CP Real Zaragoza (New Stadium) CD Badajoz Capacity: 55,926 Capacity: 53,000 Capacity: 50,399 Capacity: 50,076 Capacity: 50,000 (proposed stadium : finish 2013) Capacity: 15,198 (plans to expand to 48,000) Santander, Spain Málaga, Spain A Coruña, Spain San Sebastián, Spain Valladolid, Spain Vigo, Spain El SardineroIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Sardinero Nueva RosaledaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nueva Rosaleda RiazoraIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estadio Riazor AnoetaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Estadio Anoeta Nuevo José ZorrillaaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo José Zorilla Nuevo BalaídosaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Balaídos Real Racing Club Málaga CF (New Stadium) Deportivo de La Coruña Real Sociedad Real Valladolid Celta de Vigo(New Stadium) Capacity: 22,271 (plans to expand to 45,400) Capacity: 45,000 (proposed stadium : finish 2016) Capacity: 35,600 (plans to expand to 45,000) Capacity: 32,076 (plans to expand to 43,650) Capacity: 26,512 (plans to expand to 43,650) Capacity: 42,381 (proposed stadium : finish 2017) Murcia, Spain Alicante, Spain Gijón, Spain Nueva CondominaIberia's Bid Stadiums: Nuevo Balaídos José Rico PérezIberia's Bid Stadiums: José Rico Pérez El Molinón a Iberia's Bid Stadiums: El Molinón Real Murcia Hércules CF Sporting de Gijón Capacity: 31,179 (plans to expand to 41,000) Capacity: 29,681 (plans to expand to 40,000) Capacity: 25,885 (plans to expand to 40,000)

a: Stadium/site used in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. b: Stadium/site used in the UEFA Euro 2004.

Rejected bid venues The following is a list of stadiums that were considered at one time as part of the FPF–RFEF's bid to host the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup, but did not make the final cut:

Sevilla Sevilla Cornellà de Llobregat Elche Oviedo Estadio Benito Villamarín Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Cornellà-El Prat Manuel Martínez Valero Nuevo Carlos Tartiere Real Betis Sevilla FC RCD Espanyol Elche CF Real Oviedo Capacity: 52,745 Capacity: 45,500 Capacity: 40,500 Capacity: 36,017 Capacity: 30,500 Faro Braga Málaga Villares de la Reina Girona Algarve Municipal de Braga La Rosaleda Helmántico Estadi Montilivi S.C. FarenseLouletano D.C. S.C. Braga CD Málaga UD Salamanca Girona FC Capacity: 30,305 Capacity: 30,154 Capacity: 30,044 Capacity: 17,341 Capacity: 10,500

Aftermath

After losing the 2018 bid, Portugal and Spain went on to bid for the 2030 edition and was later unanimously awarded in a joint bid with Morocco giving Portugal to finally host it on their second attempt and giving Spain to host it for the second time, with centenary games to be held in the South American countries of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

References

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