The Spanish Rugby Federation (FER) could be a surprise frontrunner to host the men's 2035 Rugby World Cup after reports emerged revealing that the body is liaising with both World Rugby and the Spanish top-flight soccer league LaLiga to facilitate the showpiece event.
FER representatives have reportedly met with the World Rugby governing body to demonstrate their intent to host the tournament for the first time.
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At the same time, in order to ensure the bid has facilities with the capacity to host the marquee event, FER is in talks with LaLiga to secure the use of stadia from the Spanish top flight to enhance the bid.
Particularly, if the 105,000 Capacity renovated Camp Nou in Barcelona, and the 78,297-capacity Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid (also recently refurbished), were to be secured, then the bid would be an extremely attractive one for World Rugby
Real Madrid, owners of the Santiago Bernabeu, may be amenable to the prospect given the venue is positioning itself with multi-sport hosting capacity, and as such boasts a retractable American football turf that it will use when hosting National Football League games later in 2025.
Spain is not new to hosting elite rugby, with the San Mames soccer stadium in Bilbao a particular standout, as it is set to host the final of the EPCR Champions Cup in 2026, having hosted once previously in 2018.
That venue is also likely to be central to any bid.
Spain last appeared at the Rugby World Cup in 1999, and have 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 stead.
Internationally, Spain competes in the European Nations Cup, the highest tier of annual competition for European sides outside the Six Nations, finishing runner-up in the 2024-25 campaign, which ended on March 16, and domestically, the 12-team Division de Honor de Rugby is the top flight.
With France having hosted the most recent edition of the men’s tournament in 2023, the Rugby World Cup will be hosted in 2027 by Australia, and in 2031 for the first time by the US, meaning 2035 would be the next chance for the event to return to Europe.
It had been rumored this month that a trio of Middle Eastern nations, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, were interested in preparing a bid to host the event.
Although those three nations would potentially be better able to fund the World Cup than Spain would, the lack of rugby infrastructure and culture in those states may ensure Spain comes in as the early favorite to win the bid, while the trio of Gulf states may instead choose 2039 as a prospective target.
