2030 World Cup Final: Morocco Announces Casablanca as Preferred Venue
Morocco has named Casablanca as its proposed venue for the 2030 FIFA World Cup final, although football’s world governing body is yet to officially confirm where the tournament’s showpiece match will be played. President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, announced the plan at a political party event in Bouznika, Morocco, on Thursday. According to Spanish news agency EFE, Lekjaa said Benslimane province would have the honour of hosting the final. Benslimane, located about 60 kilometres from Casablanca, is the site of the Hassan II Stadium, a $12 billion project being constructed for the tournament. The stadium is projected to have a capacity of 115,000, which would make it the world’s largest football-specific venue if completed as planned.
Morocco and Spain have been competing for the right to host the 2030 World Cup final, with Spanish federation president Rafael Louzan saying earlier this month that Spain should stage the match. FIFA had also rejected reports in August claiming that its president, Gianni Infantino, had promised Morocco the final, describing such reports as false and misleading. The 2030 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, while Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will stage the tournament’s opening three matches as part of celebrations marking the competition’s centenary. FIFA has yet to finalise all the cities that will host matches during the tournament, meaning the final venue remains officially undecided despite Morocco’s latest announcement.
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