FIFA may wait until 2028 to decide venue for 2030 World Cup final

The stadium for the 2030 World Cup final may not be confirmed until 2028, with Morocco and Spain still competing to host the tournament’s showpiece match.

Morocco, Spain and Portugal will jointly stage the World Cup, but FIFA has yet to choose between the leading candidates for the final. The three venues currently regarded as the main contenders are the future Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca, Santiago-Bernabeu in Madrid and Camp Nou in Barcelona.

Despite increasingly vocal campaigns on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar, no official decision has been made.

The Spanish and Moroccan bids have gone head to head in recent months, with Rafael Louzan, president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), making a fresh appeal for Spain on Wednesday.

“We will try to go to one of the two great stadiums,” he said, referring to Santiago-Bernabeu and Camp Nou. Louzan added that the World Cup should finish in Spain.

That position is not shared by FIFA at this stage. When Fouzi Lekjaa said in September that the final would be played in Morocco, football’s world governing body responded that no venue had been selected and that the decision would be made “in due time”.

Morocco’s strongest argument is the Grand Stade Hassan II, which is being built in Benslimane, in the Casablanca region. The planned capacity of 115,000 would make it suitable for a World Cup final.

Morocco also has support from Africa, including Senegal, in the dispute between the two countries that dates back to the Africa Cup of Nations final.

However, the final decision may still be some way off.

According to Mundo Deportivo, FIFA is expected to name the stadium in 2028, only two years before the World Cup begins. The Catalan newspaper has pointed to the process for the 2026 tournament as a precedent.

The United States, Canada and Mexico were awarded the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, but the venue for the final was not confirmed until February 2024.

FIFA ultimately selected MetLife Stadium, in the New York-New Jersey area, more than two years before the tournament’s opening match.

A similar timetable could therefore apply to the 2030 World Cup. For now, Casablanca, Madrid and Barcelona all remain in contention, despite repeated claims in Morocco and Spain that the final had already been assigned.

FIFA will have the final say.

Send your news stories to [email protected] and via WhatsApp on +233 546310076.

Read Full Story