A true scandal shakes Spanish soccer, as recordings were revealed in which María Tato, director of the 2030 World Cup Bid at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), from a manipulated meeting that left Vigo, a city in the northwest of Spain, without being a host for the world event.
"Let's go there. Let's put values in Excel to see what we get. The first test of the 800 that we'll do until it matches the result", were Tato's words at the meeting on June 25, 2024, held at the City of Football in Las Rozas.
Initially, Balaídos stadium, of Celta de Vigo, was among the 11 venues chosen in the first classification. However, two days later, the score was modified to exclude the Galician venue and favor the inclusion of Anoeta stadium, belonging to Real Sociedad.
The Spanish press revealed that this alteration was made without reconvening the evaluation team or providing any justification, which completely changed the final result of the vote.
The media outlet El Mundo exclusively obtained the recording of the meeting where the venues for the World Cup to be organized by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco were determined. This meeting took place in the office of Fernando Sanz, former Real Madrid player and then head of the organizing team, with the presence of Joana Soares, from the Strategy Area.
For more than three hours, the attendees (including later the federative employee Marta Alcalde) analyzed and scored the different bids in a confusing and disorganized manner. "Let's start giving scores and that's it", Tato commented at one point in the meeting, to which Sanz replied: "The ones you give are fine".
The evaluation process was marked by a lack of clear criteria and constant disagreements. The discussion ranged from the deadlines for completing the works in the stadiums to the quality of the infrastructures in the different cities. "With one stadium we're taking forever", expressed one of the participants, noting that the process was taking longer than expected.
