FIFA denies 2030 World Cup final host decision after Morocco chief's bold claim

FIFA has moved to quash claims that a host for the 2030 World Cup final has already been decided, issuing a statement that an announcement will be made “in due course” after Morocco Football Federation president Fouzi Lakjaa told a political rally the showpiece match was heading to Casablanca.

Speaking on Thursday, Lakjaa declared that the Grand Stade Hassan II — still under construction in Benslimane on the outskirts of Casablanca — had been secured as the final’s venue. “The city of Benslimane will host the World Cup final. Hate it or love it, and if anyone wants to talk on top of that, let them talk,” he said. “The city is Benslimane, the Hassan II stadium is the stadium, and I hope that Morocco will be playing it.”

The intervention is the latest in a series of public disputes over the 2030 tournament, which is being co-hosted by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay staging opening matches for their respective national teams as a tribute to the centenary of the 1930 World Cup, held in Montevideo.

FIFA had previously been forced to deny reports that it had promised Morocco the final in exchange for the Moroccan federation’s support of Gianni Infantino ahead of next month’s FIFA presidential elections — a claim the governing body also rejected.

Spain’s football federation president Rafael Louzan has staked his own claim, arguing that the world’s reigning men’s and women’s champions deserve the honour. “We all signed to accept the candidacy… it’s too bad that, regarding the final, it wasn’t made clear, totally clear, where it is to be played,” he said. “Spain, as world champion both in men’s and women’s football, must host the final.”

The three stadiums most frequently cited as candidates are the Grand Stade Hassan II, which will hold 115,000 spectators once complete, the recently renovated Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid with a capacity of 78,297, and the Nou Camp in Barcelona, currently undergoing renovation that will take its capacity to 105,000.

FIFA president Infantino has held two meetings with Moroccan King Mohammed VI on the matter, the most recent described as a crisis meeting in August. The backdrop is further complicated by ongoing political tensions between Spain and Morocco, including a migration crisis at Ceuta, the Spanish enclave bordering Morocco, in which 140 people died.