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Free Malaysia Today
16-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Malaga withdraws as host stadium for World Cup 2030
Spanish players take part in a training session at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga. (EPA Images pic) MALAGA : Spanish city Malaga on Saturday withdrew from being a host venue for the 2030 World Cup, to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Spain had put forward 11 stadiums to be used, including La Rosaleda in the south coast city. However, Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre said hosting matches could cause problems for the city's club and fans because of reconstruction work needed on the stadium. 'Choosing between the World Cup and the club, we choose the club and the fans,' said De la Torre after a meeting with the Malaga council and the regional government of Andalusia. 'After (several) meetings… we believe that the most responsible, prudent and sensible thing to do today is to abandon Malaga's World Cup (hosting). 'If the World Cup is a risk for the club and a problem for the fans, it's not worth continuing with.' Malaga would have to play at a 12,500-capacity alternative stadium while reconstruction on La Rosaleda took place, and they currently have over 26,000 season ticket holders. The works would have cost an estimated €270 million (US$316 million) but the mayor said the decision had not been made in order to cut costs. 'We want there to be a new stadium. It will not be for the World Cup but there will be, that's a firm commitment,' added De la Torre. 'We're not doing this to save money but because it's for the best for the city, the fans and the club.' Spanish second division club Malaga competed in the Champions League in 2013 but subsequently dropped as low as the third tier amid a financial crisis. In March, Spain's head of World Cup 2030 organisation Maria Tato resigned after being accused of fixing the process to decide which stadiums would host matches. Newspaper El Mundo said ratings for potential venues were altered to favour Anoeta in San Sebastian, at the expense of Balaidos in Vigo. The Galician city, as well as the east coast city Valencia, are options to replace Malaga as a host. In June, La Liga club Valencia completed financing for the Nou Mestalla stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2027 with a 70,000 capacity.
Malay Mail
13-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Spain's Malaga withdraws as 2030 World Cup host, citing disruption and fan backlash
MÁLAGA (Spain), July 13 — Spanish city Malaga yesterday withdrew from being a host venue for the 2030 World Cup, to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Spain had put forward 11 stadiums to be used, including La Rosaleda in the south coast city. However Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre said hosting matches could cause problems for the city's club and fans, because of reconstruction work needed on the stadium. 'Choosing between the World Cup and the club, we choose the club and the fans,' said De la Torre after a meeting with the Malaga council and the regional government of Andalusia. 'After (several) meetings... we believe that the most responsible, prudent and sensible thing to do today is to abandon Malaga's World Cup (hosting). 'If the World Cup is a risk for the club and a problem for the fans, it's not worth continuing with.' Malaga would have to play at a 12,500 capacity alternative stadium while reconstruction on La Rosaleda took place, and they currently have over 26,000 season ticket holders. The works would have cost an estimated 270 million euros (RM1.3 billion) but the mayor said the decision had not been made in order to cut costs. 'We want there to be a new stadium. It will not be for the World Cup but there will be, that's a firm commitment,' added De la Torre. 'We're not doing this to save money but because it's for the best for the city, the fans and the club.' Spanish second division club Malaga competed in the Champions League in 2013 but subsequently dropped as low as the third-tier amid a financial crisis. In March Spain's head of World Cup 2030 organisation Maria Tato resigned after being accused of fixing the process to decide which stadiums would host matches. Newspaper El Mundo said ratings for potential venues were altered to favour Anoeta in San Sebastian, at the expense of Balaidos in Vigo. The Galician city as well as east coast city Valencia are options to replace Malaga as a host. In June La Liga club Valencia completed financing for the Nou Mestalla stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2027 with a 70,000 capacity. — AFP
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🚨Breaking: Málaga pulls out as 2030 World Cup host city!
Málaga is no longer in the running to be a host city for the upcoming 2030 World Cup. The mayor, Francisco de la Torre, confirmed today the city's official withdrawal from Spain's bid to host the event. Advertisement 'The most responsible thing is to withdraw our candidacy,' he stated, citing viability issues and a lack of guarantees regarding Málaga CF's move to the University Stadium during the years of renovation at La Rosaleda, which would operate at 50% capacity compared to the current stadium. 'The most responsible thing is to withdraw Málaga's candidacy for the 2030 World Cup because if the World Cup poses a risk to the club and creates problems for the fans, it's not worth continuing,' said mayor Paco de la Torre at a press conference. Advertisement The news has generated surprise and a range of reactions among the people of Málaga, who had hoped to host matches of the international tournament. With this decision, the map of host cities in Spain is being reconsidered, while the organization of the World Cup continues on its path toward 2030 with new uncertainties that could lead to the emergence of new host cities that had seemed out of the running, such as Vigo. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Fran Santiago - 2021 Getty Images
