Morocco claims 2030 World Cup final with 115,000-capacity Benslimane stadium

Morocco’s football federation president Fouzi Lekjaa affirmed on Wednesday that the 2030 World Cup final will be held in Benslimane province, Morocco. The statement was made during a political rally organized in Bouznika by the official, who is also Morocco’s deputy minister in charge of the budget.

Benslimane is a city located 60 kilometers east of Casablanca, where construction is underway on the future Hassan-II stadium. The venue, with a planned capacity of 115,000 seats, represents an investment of approximately half a billion euros. Morocco is banking on this architectural giant to prevail over Spain in the race to host the most-watched match on the planet.

The rivalry is real. Days before Lekjaa’s statement, Spanish Football Federation president Rafael Louzan also claimed the final for Spain. This position was expressed during an official visit to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on Morocco’s border, amid a migration and diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

The 2030 World Cup will be the first in history to span three continents. To mark the competition’s centenary, three opening matches will be played in South America — in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay — before the main tournament, scheduled from June 13 to July 21, takes place in Europe (Portugal and Spain) and Africa (Morocco). This unprecedented geographic expansion was finalized in October 2023.

Despite the declarations from both federations, FIFA has not yet designated the stadiums selected for the competition, nor officially awarded the final to either country. The international body has also recently denied any prior arrangement with Rabat involving its controversial president Gianni Infantino. The final decision remains pending.