(changes day to Thursday in first paragraph)
Oct 15 (Reuters) – Spain has put forward some of the country’s biggest football stadiums, including Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu and Barcelona’s Camp Nou, as part of its bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup, the Spanish Rugby Federation said on Thursday.
The RFER submitted its detailed applicant questionnaire to World Rugby this month and has now unveiled a list of potential venues that also includes Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium, as Spain seeks to host the event for the first time.
Backed by LaLiga, the bid plans to capitalise on infrastructure developed for the 2030 football World Cup, which Spain will co-host with Portugal and Morocco.
In a statement, the RFER said the proposal would draw on the “venues, transport infrastructure, security and volunteer management” associated with staging the football showpiece.
“World Rugby has established this tournament as the pinnacle of our sport and it is a great honour for Spain to bid to host it,” RFER Executive President Juan Carlos Martin ‘Hansen’ said in the statement reported by the BBC.
“Rugby is becoming part of our country’s identity. Working together with World Rugby, we can make Rugby World Cup 2035 a turning point in the global growth of the sport, for the benefit of generations to come.”
Spain faces competition from more traditional rugby nations. Japan has confirmed its interest in hosting the tournament, while Argentina has outlined a South American bid involving neighbouring countries.
If successful, Spain would become the first European hosts of the Rugby World Cup since France staged the 2023 edition, which was won by South Africa.
Spain have qualified for the 2027 tournament in Australia, which will be their first appearance at a men’s Rugby World Cup since 1999. The 2031 edition will be held in the US for the first time.
(Reporting by Ruairidh Barlow and Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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