2030 World Cup final to be held in Spain not Morocco, claims Spanish FA
Spain’s football federation, the RFEF, is confident that it will stage the final of the 2030 World Cup despite co-hosts Morocco building the biggest stadium on the planet for the tournament.
RFEF president Rafael Louzan believes Morocco’s hopes of holding the final at the 115,000-capacity Grand Stade Hassan II have been dented by the country’s sometimes chaotic hoisting of the Africa Cup of Nations in recent weeks.
“Spain has proven its organisational capacity over many years,” said Louzan. “It will be the leader of the 2030 World Cup and the final of that World Cup will be held here.”
Real Madrid’s Bernabeu and Barcelona’s rebuilt Camp Nou are Spain’s two leading venues. It is not clear which would be favoured by the RFEF.
Portugal is also a co-host of the 2030 World Cup, the most geographically stretched in history, which will begin with a handful of games in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina to mark the competition’s centenary.
Morocco’s ambitious construction of the Grand Stade Hassan II, which will be situated near Casablanca and is scheduled to be completed in 2028, had appeared to make it the frontrunner to stage the tournament’s marquee match.
Africa Cup of Nations ‘damaged world football’
Its bid appeared to be boosted by Fifa leaning towards staging its World Cup headquarters in the North African country rather than its Iberian partners.
But those credentials were tarnished by the conclusion of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this month, which saw eventual winners Senegal leave the pitch in protest at refereeing decisions in favour of opponents Morocco.
“Morocco is really undergoing a transformation in every sense, with magnificent stadiums,” added Louzan.
“We must recognise what has been done well. But in the Africa Cup of Nations, we have seen scenes that damage the image of world football.”
World governing body Fifa has the final say on where the final will be held and typically does not announce the venue until two years out from the event.
This year’s final is to be played at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey after it saw off competition from LA’s SoFi Stadium to close a tournament co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.