MADRID, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Mayor of Seville on Monday insisted that the city's Estadio de la Cartuja will host either a semifinal or the final of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Spain shares with Morocco and Portugal.
Speaking at a council meeting on Monday in which he addressed transport issues, Jose Luis Sanz highlighted the need to improve Seville's local rail links, which he said would be fundamental for 2030, given that La Cartuja "is going to host a final or semifinal of the 2030 World Cup."
La Cartuja was originally opened in 1999 and was envisaged as the center of a possible bid for Seville to host the Olympic Games, but has suffered decades of underuse.
It has recently been the venue for the final of the Copa del Rey, while the ground was also used during the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, before recent developments saw its capacity raised to 70,000 ahead of this season's Copa del Rey final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The ground has the fourth highest capacity in Spain after Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Barcelona's Camp Nou and Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium, but the venue currently suffers from inadequate transport infrastructure, poor access for traffic and a lack of facilities in the area surrounding the stadium.
Seville-based La Liga outfit Real Betis will play at La Cartuja this coming season while the club's own Benito Villamarin ground is being updated. ■
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