MADRID, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian in Spain's Basque region have formally joined forces in a single bid to host matches at the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be staged in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
The local authorities of both cities and the Basque regional government said on Monday that "the institutions of both host cities have been working seriously and rigorously for four years to become hosts of the 2030 World Cup and will continue along the same path in the subsequent phases."
According to the Basque institutions, it was decided that instead of maintaining two separate bids, as had initially been the case, "in a process of consultation between both venues... to present FIFA with a single budget outlining the aspects they would be willing to undertake, considering that both venues would be combined into a single venue," with each stadium hosting two group-stage matches.
The move ends the separate bids that Bilbao and San Sebastian had submitted for Athletic Bilbao's San Mames Stadium and Real Sociedad's Anoeta Stadium to each serve as World Cup host venues.
The two cities and stadiums, which are just 101 kilometers apart, will now share a single bid.
In recent weeks, rumors had circulated that both Bilbao and San Sebastian city councils had concerns over "the stringent requirements imposed by FIFA... both from an economic standpoint and in terms of their impact on the public." ■
