68 | SPORTS VENUES 2023/24 www.stadiaworld.com CONSTRUCTION planned in view of the World Cup. The Estadio General Pablo Rojas (popularly known as La Nueva Olla), which was reopened in August 2017, is also located in Asunción and can accommodate 45,000 spectators. It is considered one of the most modern stadiums in South America. As part of the bid presentation, however, the South American football association also announced a new building. Under the name Estadio Conmebol, a stadium for the football association is to be built in Luque, Paraguay. To ensure that the project can be realised as quickly as possible, the federation has pledged approximately 50 million euros. For the time being, the plans envisage a stadium with 45,000 spectator seats. Should the 2030 World Cup take place in South America, the Estadio Conmebol would be expanded to 60,000 seats. As the largest country in the host group, Argentina is expected to provide the most venues for the World Cup. Some cities have already expressed interest, and various clubs also want to use the opportunity to push ahead with stadium projects. River Plate already has the country’s largest stadium, the Estadio Más Monumental, and is also in the midst of extensive modernisation. The 40-million-euro project is to be completed by mid-2024 and will make the stadium the largest in South America with a capacity of 84,567. To finance this, River sold the naming rights to the stadium for the first time in its history. It is preferred in Buenos Aires to Boca’s Bombonera and is scheduled to host the opening match. The Estadio Madre de Ciudades is also considered a safe venue. Located in the province of Santiago del Estero in the northwest of the country, it is one of Argentina’s newest stadiums and was only officially opened in March 2021 with the Supercopa Argentina match. Already at the start of construction, the president of the Argentine Football Federation, Claudio Tapia, declared that the stadium was seen as part of the bid for the 2030 World Cup. From the Mendoza region in the west of the country, the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas is in the race. The 42,000seat stadium also hosted the 1978 World Cup and is a traditional tournament and national team stadium in Argentina. The last renovation work took place in 2011, during which, among other things, a state-of-the-art video screen was installed. The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes and the Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata are favoured for further hosting slots. The former, also known simply as Estadio Córdoba due to its location in the province of the same name, was the venue for the Copa Sudamericana final as recently as the end of June 2022. Since 2011, it has offered 57,000 completely covered seats, making it one of the few stadiums that would meet most FIFA specifications even without renovations. For the current status of the World Cup bid, it is even considered the best-equipped of all four countries. The second stadium, which has been called Diego Armando Maradona since the end of 2020, is known as a multifunctional venue. It regularly hosts major concerts and would have been the venue for Copa America matches in 2021, before the tournament was moved to Brazil at short notice due to the Covid pandemic. The complete application documents must be submitted to FIFA by October 2023 at the latest. By then, at the latest, it will be clear which stadiums the South American quartet could agree on as host cities. The decision on the 2030 World Cup bid will be made in the fourth quarter of 2024. Competition for the South American bid comes from a trio of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. A joint bid by Saudi Arabia with Greece and Egypt was withdrawn in June. Estadio Mâs Monumental, Argentina. Picture: imago/Fotoarena Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades: One of Argentina’s most modern stadiums. Picture: imago/Sebastian Frej
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