The Diplomat
The King of Spain, Philip VI; the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; and the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, participated yesterday in the presentation ceremony of the joint bid of Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 Football World Cup, which took place at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid and concluded with a friendly football match between the two teams.
The joint Iberian bid to host the centenary of the 1930 World Cup competes with the bid submitted jointly by Argentina and Uruguay. FIFA plans to choose the host of the 2030 World Cup in the spring of 2022, after the Qatar World Cup and four years before the one to be jointly organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Spain already hosted the 1982 World Cup and Euro 1964, while Portugal hosted Euro 2004, for which Spain had also bid.
The presentation ceremony was also attended by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, and the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Fernando Gomes, as well as the Spanish Minister of Culture, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes; the Portuguese Minister of Education, Tiago Brandao; the Spanish ambassador in Lisbon, Marta Betanzos; the delegate of the Government in the Community of Madrid, Mercedes González; the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida; the president of Club Atlético de Madrid, Enrique Cerezo; and the president of the Consejo Superior de Deportes, José Manuel Franco, among other authorities.
During the ceremony, a video was shown and the Iberian bid document for the 2030 FIFA World Cup was read, after which the King and the President of Portugal witnessed the signing of the document by the presidents of the federations and the presidents of both governments. The event concluded with an exchange of T-shirts between the King and Rebelo de Sousa. For their part, Sanchez and Costa signed, in the presence of the two heads of state, a declaration of support for the joint candidacy of Spain and Portugal.
After the ceremony, the two heads of state went to the box, from where they listened to the national anthems of Portugal and Spain and watched the friendly match, which ended in a goalless draw. After the match, the King and the Portuguese President went to the ante-palace, where they were greeted by the national coaches of Portugal and Spain and by the captains of the respective teams.
