Spain hope to include iconic stadium in Rugby World Cup bid

The Spanish Rugby Union is close to reaching an agreement that would see rugby internationals played at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

The Real Federación Española de Rugby announced in 2025 its intention to host a future Men’s and/or Women’s Rugby World Cup in the future and is currently working with LaLiga and some Spanish football clubs to secure access to large stadia.

The Bernabéu holds 83,186 spectators, has a retractable roof, and is only beaten for size in Spain in terms of seating capacity by Barcelona’s Nou Camp.

In a recent interview with the Spanish outlet ABC, President Juan Carlos Martín stated that the union has made significant progress in securing the best venues with the help of the local government and football associations.

“We are now in a position that we can negotiate and move forward with the process. The next phase of our planning is to determine which stadiums will host the games.

“The biggest stadiums in Spain are already rugby-approved: Anoeta [Real Sociedad], Bilbao, Metropolitano [Atlético de Madrid], Barcelona [Spotify Camp Nou]. We are close to having the Real Madrid stadium [Santiago Bernabéu] approved as well.”

The current trend towards using football stadiums has been underway in recent years, with Spain hosting England ‘A’ at RC Valladolid’s José Zorilla and the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship Finals at the Club Deportivo Leganés Ontime Butarque.

At the same time, Bilbao’s San Mamés will host the Investec Champions Cup final in 2026 for the second time in the last six years, while the SVNS 2024 Final was played at Atlético de Madrid’s Metropolitano.

After more than two decades away from the the Men’s Rugby World Cup stage, the Los Leones have finally clinched qualification in 2025, which has served as a crucial boost for the growth of the sport in the country.

Moreover, the homologation of these stadiums will serve not only the men’s game but also the women’s, as the Spanish Union is also bidding to host the 2037 edition.

With Argentina publicly stating its intention to host an edition of the Men’s Rugby World Cup, Spain is looking to match the Pumas candidacy, with the Bernabéu potentially serving as one of the main venues.

The process for selecting the host nation for RWC 2035 started last October at World Rugby’s General Assembly in London.

The host nation will be appointed by World Rugby Council in November 2027, eight years in advance of the tournament.

As part of the process, site visits and feasibility studies will be undertaken later this year and into 2027, before a preferred host is identified in May 2027.