The Spanish Rugby Federation (FER) has officially presented its bid to host the men’s 2035 Rugby World Cup for the first time.
The country’s candidacy comes after a year-long consultation period by the FER, with discussions held with both World Rugby and LaLiga, the Spanish top-flight soccer league, to facilitate the showpiece event.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The talks with LaLiga were focused on venues, with the national body seeking to secure the use of stadia from the Spanish top-tier.
With the bid now going ahead, the FER will seemingly have use of stadiums such as the renovated 105,000-capacity Camp Nou in Barcelona, and the 78,297-capacity Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid (also recently refurbished).
The FER presented the bid at its Spanish Rugby Gala institutional event held at the headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Committee, which brought together authorities, sponsors, and representatives of national rugby. The bid for the 2035 Rugby World Cup was the central focus of the event.
The federation described the bid as a “joint proposal from institutions, regions, and the sporting community.”
Spain is not new to hosting elite rugby, with the San Mames soccer stadium in Bilbao a particular standout that is set to host the upcoming final of this year’s EPCR Champions Cup, having hosted once previously in 2018. The 53,000-seat venue is also likely to be central to the bid.
The Spanish national team last appeared at the Rugby World Cup in 1999 and has already qualified for the 2027 event. The team had qualified for the 2023 edition but breached player eligibility rules in the process and were removed from the competition at the behest of Romania, who ended up competing in their place.
With France hosting the most recent edition of the men’s tournament in 2023, the 2027 Rugby World Cup will be staged in Australia, and in 2031 for the first time in the US, meaning 2035 would be the next chance for the event to return to Europe.
Last month, Argentina launched its first-ever bid for the flagship tournament, with the nation also looking to host the 2035 edition.
The Argentina Rugby Union (UAR) officially unveiled its plans to put its hat in the ring to stage the tournament, with the bid to potentially include Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile.
Other likely bidders include Italy, Japan, and a possible joint submission from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
The host nation or nations for the 13th edition of the tournament will be appointed in November 2027, the World Rugby governing body confirmed late last year.
In September, the governing body officially launched the process through which nations could bid to host the 2035 edition.
At its general assembly in London, World Rugby said that preferred hosts would be chosen in May 2027.
Moving forward, the bid organizers will go through a ‘working session’ with Alan Gilpin, chief executive at World Rugby.
Meanwhile, in other bidding news, India is preparing a bid to host the 2038 Asian Games, as the country continues its aggressive pursuit of major sporting events.
Earlier this month, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formally reached out to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), expressing its interest in staging the 2038 games.
With the 2026 Asian Games set to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, followed by Doha in 2030, and Riyadh in 2034, the 2038 Asian Games slot is currently up for grabs.
According to the Indian Express publication, India’s proposal was tabled during the OCA executive board meeting held in Sanya, China, last Thursday (April 23).
IOA CEO Raghuram Iyer said: “We are interested in bringing the Asian Games to India. We are in touch with the OCA and have written to them expressing our interest. We will be in dialogue with the OCA.”
India will face competition from South Korea and Mongolia, which have also expressed interest in hosting the 2038 Asian Games.
India has previously hosted two editions of the Asian Games – the inaugural edition in 1951 and again in 1982, both in the national capital, New Delhi.
The country’s latest bid is part of a larger push to secure hosting rights for major sports events. The nation is currently bidding to stage the 2036 Olympics and has also won the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
