World Cup battle over which host nation will stage soccer closing in 2030
A furious football fight has broken out between Spain, Morocco and Portugal over which of the three World Cup 2030 host nations will stage the final
Gianni Infantino has a quandary(Image: FIFA via Getty Images,)
A World Cup war has broken out over which of the three host nations will stage the final – in 2030.
Spain insists it will be the ‘leader’ of the tri-national contest it is jointly staging with Morocco and Portugal. Its officials say either Real Madrid ’s 84,000-capacity Bernabeu stadium or Barcelona ’s Spotify Camp Nou, which holds 99,000, would each be fitting venues.
Spanish football federation president Rafael Louzan said his nation ‘has proven its organisational capacity over many years’. “It will be the leader of the 2030 World Cup and the final of that World Cup will be held here,” he declared.
But he appears to be at loggerheads with officials from Morocco who want to stage the final in Casablanca at the Grand Stade Hassan II. It is due to be completed in 2028 and expected to hold 115,000 people.
Morocco’s Royal Football Federation president Faouzi Lekjaa has expressed his wish to see the stadium stage the big match. Portugal has not yet commented.
But the dispute could be a problem for football’s governing body FIFA before a ball has been kicked at the 2026 tri-national tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada. This year’s final will be played at the MetLife Stadium at the 82,500 capacity Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US.
The 2030 row kicked off at an event organised by the Madrid Sports Press Association where Louzan highlighted wild scenes at the final of the Africa Cup of Nations – aka Afcon – earlier this month.
Morocco had talked up the tournament as a test event for 2030. But it ended in chaotic scenes in the capital city Rabat.
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, already angered by a decision to disallow his side a goal in injury-time with the score 0-0, ushered his team from the field after hosts Morocco were awarded a penalty following a video assistant referee check. There was also unrest in the stands as Senegal’s supporters tried to force their way onto the pitch.
Following a 17-minute delay Brahim Diaz’s tame ‘Panenka’ spot-kick was saved and Senegal went on to claim a 1-0 victory in extra time. A win for Morocco would have seen the country clinch its first Afcon title since 1976.
Louzan said: “Morocco is really undergoing a transformation in every sense with magnificent stadiums. We must recognise what has been done well.
“But in the Africa Cup of Nations we have seen scenes that damage the image of world football.”
FIFA said last year it was premature to decide the venue for the 2030 final with this year’s host city revealed only two years before the tournament.
Spain have put forward 11 stadiums to host games at the 2030 World Cup with Morocco set to use six and Portugal three.
The opening matches will take place in South America as FIFA marks the centenary anniversary of the 1930 competition staged and won by Uruguay. Beaten finalists Argentina and Paraguay, where South American football confederation Conmebol is based, will also host openers.
