The Spanish Government: The 2030 World Cup Is “Not In Danger”!

The Spanish government pledged to begin reforming the “unacceptable” situation in the local football federation, which is experiencing a corruption scandal that is ravaging the country’s top football body. The former president of the federation, Luis Rubiales, resigned from his position last September, after forcefully kissing national team player Jenny Hermoso, after Spain won the world title in Sydney last August. He is also accused of “money laundering, commercial corruption,” and even “belonging to a criminal organization.” . The federation's interim president, Pedro Rocha, is also under investigation as part of the corruption scandal ravaging the country's top football body. An investigation at Spain's Supreme Sports Court indicated that the local football federation had taken decisions that "exceeded its powers." “The Supreme Council of Sports and the government will do everything in their power to correct this unacceptable situation,” said the Minister of Sports and President of the Supreme Council for Sports, Jose Manuel Uribes. According to local media, the Sports Court found that the Federation's administrative committee, which took charge after Rubiales' resignation, took measures that it was not permitted to take, including extending the contract of first team coach Luis de la Fuente. Oribes said: “After the decision from the Supreme Sports Court describing the actions of the Federation President and the Administrative Committee in the past months as very serious, I will call a meeting of the Board of Directors in the coming days to make a decision.” The court could then declare that Rocha, Rubiales' former vice president and currently interim president, is ineligible to serve as president, even though he is the only candidate in the May 6 elections. In March, the federation sacked several directors linked to corruption investigations, while police searched the federation's headquarters on the outskirts of Madrid along with Rubiales' properties in Granada. “It is in the government’s interest that matters be investigated to the end,” Oribes said. But he insisted that the scandals would “not affect at all” his country’s hosting of the World Cup in 2030, jointly with Portugal and Morocco. He continued: “I communicate with FIFA almost every day, and I think that there was never such smooth communication before.” He added: “They are sure that Spain is a country that knows how to organize things. The World Cup is not in danger.”