Madrid sets out global sports agenda, from NFL and F1 to Champions League and World Cup hopes

Madrid’s sporting year opens this weekend with the Spanish Grand Prix, then on eight November the Cincinnati Bengals face the Atlanta Falcons at the Bernabéu. The Laureus Awards could return in April, ahead of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, and the men’s Champions League final on five June at the Metropolitano.

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, city and regional leaders want Madrid to be a top-tier global sports hub and to reassert national leadership after Barcelona’s 1992 Olympics, underlined by the Tour de France Grand Départ two months ago.

An Olympic bid remains the missing piece. There is no project, though mayor Martínez Almeida and regional president Díaz Ayuso have kept the city’s aspiration alive when asked. Failures in 2012, 2016 and 2020 advise caution.

Madrid wants the 2030 World Cup final at the Bernabéu, with Barcelona’s Camp Nou also in contention. Casablanca is the bigger threat, with the 115,000-seat Hassan II rising and Gianni Infantino’s much-debated rapport with Morocco’s regime. Florentino Pérez’s influence is viewed as pivotal.

The Metropolitano will host this season’s Champions League final, the Atlético stadium doing so for the second time after 2019, when Liverpool beat Tottenham. Camp Nou is targeting 2029.

Beyond the 10 guaranteed years of Formula 1, Madrid is chasing more showpiece events. The NFL debuted last year, and a multiyear agreement with the city and Real Madrid, though undisclosed, guarantees future regular-season games at the Bernabéu.

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”