Intense Competition for the 2030 World Cup Final Venue
On July 18, 2023, Mark Gleeson reported that New York will capture the entire attention of the football world this Sunday with the World Cup final, but the location for the most significant match of the 2030 tournament is already becoming a focal point of intense diplomatic and political competition. Morocco, Portugal, and Spain have been selected as the host nations for the 2030 World Cup, yet FIFA has not yet announced where the final will take place.
Spain has made a strong case for hosting the final match, but Morocco is making significant strides with the construction of a new $12 billion stadium in the outskirts of Casablanca that is expected to have a seating capacity of 115,000. This ambitious project aims to secure the title match of 2030, and the battle for this prestigious honor is already underway within the football power circles.
The Hassan II Stadium is projected to be the largest in the football world, with its construction set to be completed by the end of next year. It competes against two Spanish venues for the final: the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, which will boast a capacity of 83,000 after extensive renovations completed by late 2024, and the Camp Nou in Barcelona, which is undergoing renovations to increase its capacity to 105,000, although this project has experienced delays.
The initial moves in what is expected to be an intense lobbying campaign were made in January by Rafael Louzán, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who asserted that Spain would host the final. He took advantage of the chaos surrounding the African Cup of Nations final in Morocco to bolster his position. Louzán stated, "Spain has a proven organizational capacity over many years and will lead the 2030 World Cup, with the final being held here." He also commented on Morocco's significant transformation, including its football landscape, but expressed concerns about incidents that marred the image of the African Cup of Nations.
Violent incidents among fans, misbehavior by ball boys, and a brief suspension during Senegal's victory over Morocco in the African Cup were notable issues at the newly inaugurated Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium in Rabat, which has a capacity of 69,500. Recently, the influential president of the Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, remarked on state television that no decisions have been made regarding the allocation of matches, which will be determined through consultations among the three host nations and FIFA.
However, sources within the African football hierarchy confirm that Morocco is exerting significant behind-the-scenes pressure for the final to be held in Casablanca, suggesting that competition among the involved parties is likely to intensify. Should Casablanca be selected, it would mark the second time an African city has hosted a World Cup final, following Johannesburg in 2010, where Spain secured its only World Cup title to date. In contrast, during Spain's hosting of the World Cup in 1982, the final took place at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Italy triumphed over West Germany with a score of 3-1.
As reported by es-us.noticias.yahoo.com.
