Generalitat president backs Valencia 2030 World Cup bid and criticises Lim | OneFootball

Valencia has re-entered the frame to be a 2030 World Cup host city with explicit institutional backing, as Generalitat president Juanfran Pérez Llorca champions the bid and seeks to separate the new stadium from Peter Lim's unpopularity.

"There is no city better prepared than Valencia to be a World Cup host. Valencia is a guarantee of success", he said. He told AS.

"I do not understand why he bought Valencia CF if he has barely watched them at the stadium. Many fans dislike the Nou Mestalla because they reject Peter Lim's management, but a stadium transcends any owner."

"Valencia CF restarted construction and is meeting the schedule, as the city council technicians overseeing it assure us."

"Valencia has it all, hotel capacity, experience running major events, three nearby airports, a high-speed rail network, a port and hospital capacity. It will also have a newly opened Nou Mestalla for 70,000."

The City Council, led by mayor María José Catalá, has signed an agreement with Valencia CF on stadium use for events such as the 2030 World Cup. Even so, the bid’s viability still depends on the club meeting its historically unstable timetable.

Left out of the RFEF’s 2024 bidbook, Valencia’s case has strengthened under Rafael Louzán since December 2024, with seven proposed subsites in the region, La Nucía, Elche, Benidorm, Vila-real, Oliva, Paterna and Buñol.

FIFA is due to decide the final host cities later this year. Before that comes Saturday's 16:15 derby at the Martínez Valero, where Pérez Llorca, born in Finestrat and an Elche season-ticket holder, said, "It has got complicated, but I believe in survival because we have a top-flight squad".

Source: Superdeporte