Stadium pulls out of hosting World Cup matches as statement issued

A 32,000-seater stadium which was due to host matches at the 2030 FIFA World Cup has withdrawn from hosting duties.

The 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by United States, Canada and Mexico, is expected to be one of the biggest in the tournament's long history, with FIFA touting record ticket sales.

There have been logistical challenges surrounding the US and Israel's ongoing war on Iran, while there were brief safety concerns raised over hosting matches in Mexico over spates of gang-related violence in the country.

For 2030, a record-breaking six countries will host the World Cup - albeit only one match will be held in each of Uruguay, Argentina and Mexico to mark FIFA's centenary celebrations.

The bulk of the tournament will be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with 10 Spanish stadiums having been selected as part of FIFA's staging process.

One of those was the 32,471-capacity Riazor stadium, which is home to 1999/00 La Liga champions Deportivo La Coruna.

The venue has hosted six international matches involving Spain, most recently in 2009, as well as matches at the 1982 World Cup.

Riazor has hosted Deportivo's home matches since 1944 (Image: Getty)

FIFA's stadium regulations state that venues must have a capacity of at least 40,000 to host World Cup matches, but Deportivo chiefs were exploring plans to expand up to 48,000.

Deportivo haven't played in La Liga since 2018, and dropped as far down as the third tier before earning promotion to the Segunda Division in 2024.

Valencia and Celta Vigo expressed their disappointment that their stadiums hadn't been selected instead - while a statement released by

Deportivo in 2024 didn't appear to speak to the club's excitement about hosting matches.

"RC Deportivo's priority is to maintain the 32,471-capacity Riazor stadium in line with the needs of our subscribers and to provide the necessary budget to build our teams and invest in the development and growth of the club," the statement read (via StadiumDB).

"Neither the club nor its shareholders are willing to jeopardise the sustainability of the club."

On Monday morning, Deportivo, A Coruna's Provincial Council and the City Council collectively issued a statement confirming their commitment to modernisation plans for the Riazor stadium.

As part of the commitment, however, the stadium will give up its hosting rights for the 2030 World Cup.

Ines Rey, the Mayor of A Coruna, stated that while the city wanted to host World Cup matches, they could not do so 'at any price'.

The president of the Provincial Council, Valentin Gonzalez Formoso, said: "In a wave of improvement of sports infrastructures in Europe, A Coruna deserves a clear commitment from the administration, which we will be concretising in the coming weeks and months."