Shock favourites to host 2035 World Cup emerge with iconic stadiums : Planet Rugby

World Rugby are keen for the Rugby World Cup to return to Europe in 2035 as shock favourites emerge to host the tournament.

A report last week from the Times stated that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE were preparing a joint bid to host rugby’s showpiece event in 2035, with the next two tournaments taking place in Australia and the USA, respectively.

The Middle Eastern nations will have stiff competition for the rights to host the tournament, according to reports, with Japan and Italy joining the race along with Spain.

Spain lead the race for 2035

Sports Mail reports that Spain have moved to the front of the pack with rugby’s governing body eager for the Rugby World Cup to return to Europe.

“We took some big strategic decisions a few years ago to go men’s and women’s in Australia and the same in the US,” World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin told the publication.

“And we’ve now go to think about the balance and whether we bring 2035 [men’s] and 2037 [women’s] back to Europe. It’s almost like a regional rotation. We’ve never had that discussion strategically in World Rugby before but that’s probably the way the discussion has got to go.”

A World Cup in Spain would likely result in rugby being hosted in iconic football stadiums like the Santiago Bernabeu and the Camp Nou, the home grounds of La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This could prove to be a stumbling block because of the La Liga season but those conversations are already taking place, according to Gilpin.

“The Spanish federation and Spanish government have had conversations with La Liga,” he said.

“When we’ve had tournaments before in England, there’s been that conversation about needing Tottenham to play two matches away in a row. It’s the same conversation with Spain.

“As we understand it it’s with La Liga about would they support and it seems to be the case.”

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Next rotation

Spain are seen as a growing nation by the governing body, who feel that a World Cup in 2035 could be too soon for the Middle Eastern countries to field competitive teams.

Ex-Wallabies hooker Phil Kearns revealed that was the case for the USA who entered the bidding for the 2027 World Cup before getting the hosting rights for the tournament four years later.

Spain had actually qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup but were stripped of their place at the tournament after World Rugby deemed they used an ineligible player – Gavin van den Berg – during qualification.

They have since booked their place at Rugby World Cup 2027 after reaching the Rugby Europe Championship semi-finals.

Gilpin added that the Middle East is competing with Japan for an Asian rotation in 2039 but confirmed that nothing is set in stone yet.

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