World Cup venue could be stripped of hosting rights due to 'appalling conditions'
FIFA has told officials from a city which is due to stage World Cup matches to make 'significant' improvements in time for the tournament - or risk losing their status as hosts
A World Cup stadium could be stripped of its hosting rights after conditions were labelled 'appalling' during a major cup final. Spain's Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville staged the Copa del Rey final earlier this month, as Real Sociedad beat Atletico Madrid on penalties.
Although it was Sociedad's supporters who got to enjoy the celebrations, both sets of fans were in agreement over issues getting into the ground. The 70,000 capacity stadium, which was built for the 1999 World Athletics Championships, is due to host matches at 2030 World Cup, co-hosted by six different countries.
Supporters of both Sociedad and Atletico complained about the 'disastrous organisation', 'appalling conditions' and 'unimaginable chaos' when it came to entering La Cartuja. A damning report from Spanish outlet AS explains that fans had to endure long queues and gridlocked roads ahead of kick-off.
In addition, the shuttle bus service which is put on for Betis supporters their home matches wasn't made available. Some fans decided to walk to the stadium which is situated around four kilometres from the city centre, an even more gruelling task during the summer months.
La Cartuja is set to be Spain's fourth-biggest venue when they co-host the World Cup in four years' time. After the opening three games are played across Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the 100th anniversary of the World Cup, Spain, Portugal and Morocco will stage the rest of the tournament.
It's added in the report that FIFA has told stadium officials that 'significant' improvements are required in order for La Cartuja to keep its hosting rights, including more efficient travel infrastructure and better organisation. The Spanish FA are said to be aware of the issues and a meeting regarding the stadium's situation is being planned.
However, local authorities have described the cup final chaos as a 'one-off'. The mayor of Seville, Jose Luis Sanz, claimed that the organisation was 'reasonably good' while councillor Alvaro Pimentel added that the city's transport links to the stadium 'work very well.
As well as staging last season's Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Real Madrid, La Cartuja hosted four matches during the European Championship in 2021, albeit with limited crowds of around 11,000 due to the global pandemic. Spain played all three of their group games in Seville before the stadium hosted Belgium's 1-0 victory over Portugal.
Scotland fans will also be familiar with the ground, as the Tartan Army played a Euro qualifier there in October 2023. La Carutja was most recently used at international level for a 2026 World Cup qualifier between Spain and Turkey in November of last year.