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La Rosaleda during Spain's game there in June. MARIANO POZO
Malaga's La Rosaleda stadium in contention as a 2030 World Cup venue

Malaga's La Rosaleda stadium in contention as a 2030 World Cup venue

The city's football ground would need to go through major upgrades to meet Fifa requirements, but is set to be chosen as a host by the Spanish Football Federation

BORJA GUTIÉRREZ / ANTONIO GÓNGORA

Tuesday, 12 July 2022, 11:31

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As Spain and Portugal's joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup continues to take shape, Malaga city is in the running to become one of the 14 hosts for the football tournament thanks to La Rosaleda stadium, which would need to undergo a series of major upgrades.

The venue will need to be remodelled and improved in order to comply with Fifa requirements and it is one of the options currently under consideration by the Spanish Football Federation, SUR can confirm.

The Federation organised a meeting this week at its Las Rozas headquarters at which representatives of the Andalusian regional government and the city council were present to further push Malaga as a host city.

Big changes

La Rosaleda will need to see big changes if it's to become a venue for the tournament. It currently has space for 30,000 spectators and can increase its capacity by at least 10,000; but to stay in line with Fifa's requirements it would need to reach 45,000 seats.

The other difficulty Malaga might face is the need to have at least 5,000 car park spaces around the ground. The city would also have to fork out on new equipment to access the stadium and build other infrastructure.

These changes to La Rosaleda have already been studied by the city council, the provincial authority and the regional government and they are possible from a technical point of view.

The authorities are in agreement that, despite the high cost, it would see that area of the city develop and regenerate more sustainably. It would also allow the stadium to become a four-star venue, which is another Fifa requirement.

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