The race to win the bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup is heating up with one of the candidates officially confirming their intentions.
The upcoming tournament in 2027 will be in Australia, with the United States of America hosting the competition four years later.
Earlier this year, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin revealed that the governing body is keen for the Rugby World Cup to return to Europe in 2035, with one of the favourites to clinch the hosting rights officially announcing their bid.
Spain enters the race
Real Federación Española de Rugby president Carlos Hansen announced that Spain has entered the race to host the 2035 tournament.
Spain will have stiff competition for the hosting rights with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE planning a joint bid.
In October 2025, Japan formally confirmed their intention to bid after the success of the 2019 World Cup, while it is believed that Argentina could spearhead a bid for the tournament to be hosted in South America along with the likes of Uruguay, Chile and Brazil.
If World Rugby are to go down the European route, it is reported that Spain could be a leading contender, but Italy have also expressed their interest.
Ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Federazione Italiana Rugby director Marzio Innocenti confirmed that Italy would like to host the Rugby World Cup in 2035 or 2039. The Azzurri remain the only Six Nations country that has never hosted Rugby World Cup matches. Italy has twice bid to host the tournament but fell short.
Finally, South Africa could also enter the bidding process after previously stating that it could no longer compete financially. The Republic last hosted the World Cup in 1995 and has repeatedly bid to do so again since, notably missing out in 2023.
SA Rugby were reportedly set to hold discussions with World Rugby over the feasibility of hosting the competition before making a decision.
Meanwhile, Hansen announced that Spain would be bidding for the hosting rights of the 2035 Rugby World Cup in a video posted on the union’s social media channels.
“So, an exciting year is coming for us,” he said.
“Years are coming where we want to change, we want to keep working to improve this rugby, and I confirm to you that we’ve been nominated and assigned as candidates to organise the 2035 World Cup,” he said.
“We’re going to work very hard on that. Well, I just wish that you rest during these holidays, gather a lot of energy. Let’s prepare for a 2026 full of rugby. Merry Christmas.”
Spain to return to the World Cup
A World Cup in Spain would likely result in rugby being hosted in iconic football stadiums like the Santiago Bernabeu and the Camp Nou, the home grounds of La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
Spain are set to make their Rugby World Cup return in Australia in 2027, their first tournament since 1999.
While they qualified for the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, they were disqualified on both occasions. In 2018, World Rugby confirmed that Spain had been disqualified from the tournament in Japan after fielding one or more ineligible players on nine occasions during the 2017 and 2018 Rugby Europe Championships – eight of which related to Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying.
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In 2022, Spain were disqualified from the World Cup because three members of Alcobendas Rugby Club falsified a copy of an ineligible player’s passport with Gavin van den Berg playing in two of the qualifying matches.