RFEF President announces Spain bid for 2035 World Cup | OneFootball

The President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Rafael Louzan has announced that Spain intend to bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup, after securing the 2030 men’s event in partnership with Portugal and Morocco. The event in 2035 would follow a similar format.

The women’s game has taken major steps forward in Spain over the last decade, with Barcelona dominating the women’s game at a national level, and then at a European level too. That progress reached a peak at the 2023 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, as La Roja lifted the trophy following a 2-0 victory over England in the final.

On Friday, Louzan declared that Spain, Morocco and Portugal were working to bring a second World Cup to the region in the space of just five years.

“What better way to showcase women’s sport than with the contribution of the most important global sporting event in existence: the World Cup. That’s what we’re working on,” Louzan told Relevo, at an event focuses on equality at the King Juan Carlos University in Madrid.

It would certainly be a manner of asserting Spain’s identity and importance in the game on the international stage, as the Spanish national team seek to follow on their ‘golden era’ between 2008 and 2012, after their Euro 2024 and 2023 World Cup triumphs. However there is still plenty of work to be done in the women’s game before they can compare themselves with the likes of England, France or Germany in terms of professionalism.

Barcelona’s dominance has been contrasted by the relative lack of competition from other forces in Liga F, both domestically and on a European level. Meanwhile after the scandal involving Luis Rubiales, many still believe that the women’s game continues to lag behind in several areas. During the trial for Rubiales’ sexual assault conviction, first team manager Montse Tome admitted that she had no idea there was even a protocol for inappropriate behaviour, while many of important figures at the RFEF, including Louzan, were present during years of complaints from the Spain team over their treatment.