World Cup Lawsuit Threat

Rajoy's 2013 Energy Cuts Sparked a Decade of Lawsuits

The crisis traces back to Royal Decree-Law 9/2013. That law, passed by the Rajoy government, cut subsidies for wind and solar energy projects retroactively — meaning investors who had already built plants suddenly earned far less than promised. Furious investors sued Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty, an international agreement designed to protect energy investments. The World Bank's arbitration court, known as ICSID, began ruling against Spain between 2017 and 2020.

Spain refused to pay. Courts in the UK, Australia, and the United States have since ruled that Spain cannot hide behind sovereign immunity — the legal shield that normally protects governments from having their assets seized abroad. In August 2024, a U.S. appeals court confirmed that ICSID rulings are enforceable on U.S. soil like any final court judgment. Spain now owes €1.75 billion in principal plus over €500 million in interest and legal costs, according to La Opinión de Málaga.

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Creditors Target Adidas, FIFA Money, and Hotel Bills

The legal strategy is called a Third-Party Debt Order. Because U.S. courts say Spain waived its immunity when it signed the ICSID Convention, any U.S. company that owes money to Spain can be ordered to pay the creditors instead. Adidas — which pays the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) an estimated €70 million per year — has received a legal subpoena to reveal all financial contracts with the Spanish team, according to La Provincia.

FIFA could also be forced to redirect its World Cup prize money away from Spain. A team that reaches the final could earn up to $50 million from FIFA — all of it now at legal risk. Logistics firm Rock-it Cargo and the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel chain have also received subpoenas. The RFEF is fighting back in U.S. courts, arguing it is a private organization and not part of the Spanish state, according to El Correo Gallego.

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Spain Owes More Unpaid Awards Than Any Other Country

Spain currently holds 27 to 28 unpaid international arbitration awards — more than any other nation in the world, according to the Arbitration Monitor. U.S. courts in Washington D.C. alone have already recognized €688.4 million in enforceable judgments. On April 10, 2026, a federal judge authorized creditors to register those judgments in any U.S. district. By early June, they had done so in 10 states, targeting every city where Spain could play a match.

The Spanish government says it cannot pay. Its official position is that EU law — specifically rulings in the Achmea and Komstroy cases — forbids paying arbitration awards linked to intra-EU investment disputes. A government spokesperson called the World Cup strategy

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