The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, has reiterated his demand that the Spotify Camp Nou, stadium of FC Barcelona, be the venue for the final of the 2030 World Cup, once the renovation works are completed. He has defended that "It is the best candidacy because we will have the best field in Europe".
Collboni made this request during the opening this Monday of the exhibition "Reyes del Mundo", promoted by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF). Attending the event were the councillor for Sports of the Generalitat, Berni Álvarez; the president of the RFEF, Rafael Louzán; the president of the Federació Catalana de Futbol (FCF), Joan Soteras; as well as the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, and the former player and world champion, Joan Capdevila.
Exhibition "Reyes del Mundo" at the Town Hall
The exhibition displays in the Ràfols room of the Town Hall the World Cup trophy won by the Spanish national team this summer in the World Cup held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The exhibition can be visited this Monday from 13.00 to 20.00 hours and on Tuesday from 10.00 to 20.00 hours, with free admission and entry on a first-come, first-served basis.
The mayor recalled the giant screen installed in the parc del Fòrum, where 30,000 fans gathered to follow the decisive match and then celebrate the title together with the rest of the city "peacefully".
In his speech, he underlined the power of the king sport to generate social cohesion: "I claim the ability of football to spread joys and claim values. Sport breaks barriers between people who think differently and everyone will remember who they were with and what they were doing that day. The world cup is welcome to its home", he stated.
Nine Catalan champions and candidacy for 2030
Collboni, Álvarez, Louzán and Soteras have highlighted that, of the 26 players who were crowned world champions, 9 are Catalan, which makes Catalunya the autonomous community that contributed the most footballers to the national team.
Álvarez has highlighted that Catalan sport has experienced an "extraordinary" year and has pointed out that the current crop of Catalan footballers has the potential to remain at the highest level until the 2030 event.
The councillor has emphasized that the efforts continue so that the Spotify Camp Nou will be the stadium for the 2030 World Cup final and has assured that this work is being carried out in an "honest and hand in hand" manner with the Barcelona City Council and that of Cornellà (Barcelona), with the aim of having two venues in the championship.
For his part, Louzán has emphasized the importance of the blue-and-red club in the success of the national team: he has said that they are in the place where they wanted to be and has stated that "A fundamental part of the victory we owe to this great club (FC Barcelona) because its players have done a lot and also as people so that this family that is the national team has managed to win the cup".
He added that they face a "magnificent opportunity" to project internationally both Barcelona and all of Spain, in case the World Cup final in the city is finally confirmed and that the Espanyol stadium also appears as a venue for the tournament.
To conclude, Soteras has highlighted the work of Catalan grassroots football and has announced that the trophy will likewise be displayed at the FCF headquarters on Wednesday and Thursday, "so that the cup reaches all of Catalan football".