The matter concerning which of the two countries (Spain and Morocco) will host the final for the 2030 World Cup will be sorted out “in due course”, FIFA clarified on Thursday.
Morocco Football Federation president Fouzi Lakjaa had said that the final will take place in the under-construction Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca.
There has been no official declaration from FIFA regarding who will be hosting the match.
Despite the recent end of the 2026 version, which ended with Spain being crowned the winner this summer, both Moroccan and Spanish representatives have made claims on the next one.
A FIFA spokesperson told Efe news agency and quoted by ESPN: “as the organization announced” on Aug. 5, the decision will be made “in due course.”
On that day, FIFA had already refuted its offer to give the hosting rights for the finals of the World Cup — which it will be co-hosting with Spain and Portugal — to Morocco in return for its backing for FIFA president Gianni Infantino in March’s elections.
Fouzi Lakjaa, president of the Moroccan federation, said so at a political rally on Thursday.
“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.”
This week, Spain’s national football governing body chairman, Rafael Louzán, said that it was Spain which deserves the game, although he admitted that it hasn’t been guaranteed.
“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,” Louzán said. “Spain, as world champion both in men’s and women’s football, must host the final.”
Europe’s representatives feel that this large-scale multination tournament must be treated as an European tournament, with the final taking place in Europe.
Besides Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will be the host countries for the first games of their respective national teams at the World Cup 2030, in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the World Cup 1930, which took place only in Montevideo.
The conflict over the final becomes aggravated by the fact that Infantino is under immense pressure from UEFA, the union of European federations, which managed to launch a successful revolt against the plan to sell shares in the World Cup.
However, there are six federations of Arab nations, including Morocco’s one, supporting him in spite of this fiasco.
