Spain’s World Cup 2030 Bid in Jeopardy Amid UEFA and FIFA Corruption Probe

The Spanish government has until Friday, May 3 to clarify the placement of the RFEF under trusteeship, reports AS. The RFEF is the subject of an investigation for corruption. "The Spanish government has taken this decision to remedy the serious situation of the RFEF and allow it to embark on a period of renewal in a climate of stability," explained the Higher Sports Council (CSD), a body dependent on the Ministry of Sports, on its website.

In a letter, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, president of the Spanish Higher Sports Council, justified the government’s intervention without however managing to convince UEFA and FIFA. According to them, these justifications are perceived as an "order". The two major football bodies would threaten the Spanish government to have to "assume the consequences." In the event of an unsatisfactory response from the Higher Sports Council (CSD), FIFA and UEFA could exclude La Roja from the next Euro to be held in Germany and the Olympic Games, exclude Spanish clubs from the Champions League, the Europa League, the Conference League, the Club World Cup and the national team from the co-organization of the World Cup (2030) alongside Morocco and Portugal. Moreover, the World Cup must be ratified in December next year at the extraordinary FIFA congress.

Spain therefore risks suffering the same fate as Peru, Chad, Guatemala, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe and Russia, which have in the past been excluded from international competitions for political interference.