BOUZNIKA, Morocco — Royal Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa told a political rally this week that the 2030 World Cup final will be played at the Hassan II Stadium, which is under construction in Benslimane. FIFA has not chosen a site for the final.
Lekjaa is also Morocco’s minister delegate for the budget and a member of the political bureau of the Party of Authenticity and Modernity, which held the campaign event in Bouznika, a town in Benslimane province. Morocco holds legislative elections Sept. 23. Lekjaa told the crowd that anyone hoping to join Morocco’s next government will have no choice but to develop the province, Le360 reported.
“The city of Benslimane will host the World Cup final,” Lekjaa said, according to a translation by The Associated Press. “Hate it or love it, and if anyone wants to talk on top of that, let them talk.”
“The city is Benslimane, the Hassan II stadium is the stadium, and I hope that Morocco will be playing it,” Lekjaa added.
Responding to the AP on Thursday, FIFA said its decision on the final will be made “in due course.”
Rafael Louzán Pressed Spain’s Claim to the Final in Ceuta
On Sept. 4, Rafael Louzán, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, made Spain’s case in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the North African coast that borders Morocco. He appeared there with Spain coach Luis de la Fuente at an event held in support of the city, Spanish news agency EFE reported.
Louzán said Spain has to keep working with the partners that signed the joint bid.
“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, according to the AP’s translation. “Spain, as world champion both in men’s and women’s soccer, must host the final.”
Spain won its second men’s World Cup on July 19, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. On the way, Spain played twice at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. It beat Portugal, its 2030 co-host, 1-0 in the round of 16 on July 6 and beat France 2-0 in a semifinal on July 14. Spain’s women won the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Louzán’s visit came five weeks after the July 30 crossing into Ceuta, when more than 70,000 people crossed into the enclave from Morocco by land and sea, CNN reported. Humanitarian organizations estimate about 140 people died. Spain’s government has said Morocco acted in good faith during the crisis, the AP reported.
In Ceuta, Louzán said what happened there should never have happened and that the episode should not change the sporting plan for the joint bid, Latingoles reported. He also said one of Spain’s national teams will play a match at Ceuta’s Estadio Alfonso Murube, though not the senior men’s team because of the stadium’s capacity, according to Ceuta TV.
FIFA Denied Report That Gianni Infantino Promised Morocco the Final
On Aug. 5, The Times of London’s Martyn Ziegler reported that Gianni Infantino had offered Morocco the 2030 final at the Hassan II Stadium in exchange for written support as he faced calls to resign. A FIFA spokesperson told the newspaper it was “false and misleading” to claim Infantino had made any promises about hosting the final.
Infantino held a meeting of FIFA’s senior leadership in Rabat that same day. In a statement afterward, FIFA acknowledged mistakes in its handling of the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the abandoned plan to sell stakes in a company running its tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors. FIFA said a review would be conducted and a report presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting.
“It was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently,” FIFA said.
In July, Infantino met King Mohammed VI during the annual celebrations of the king’s accession to the throne, the AP reported. On Aug. 13, Lekjaa was among six Arab federation leaders who issued a statement backing Infantino. Lekjaa had signed Morocco’s letter nominating Infantino for re-election at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver on April 30, declaring that the federation “exclusively supports” him.
Lekjaa has led the Moroccan federation since 2014. He is also first vice president of the Confederation of African Football and a member of the 37-member FIFA Council.
Spanish and Moroccan officials both claimed the final in October 2023, a day after FIFA picked the joint bid from Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Spain’s sports minister at the time, Miquel Iceta, said he expected the final to be in Spain, and Lekjaa said the goal was a final in Casablanca. The FIFA Congress formally confirmed the hosts in December 2024, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay each set to stage one match marking the tournament’s centenary.
In January, Louzán said Spain would host the final without naming a stadium, Al Jazeera reported. He also pointed to problems during Morocco’s hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Morocco is really undergoing a transformation in every sense with magnificent stadiums,” Louzán explained. “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.”
Senegal won that January final 1-0 over Morocco in a match temporarily halted by fan disruptions and player protests. Spain can offer Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu or Barcelona’s Camp Nou for the 2030 final. The Hassan II Stadium is planned to seat 115,000 and is expected to be finished in late 2028.
FIFA told Reuters last year that it was premature to pick the 2030 final venue, noting that the 2026 final host city was revealed only two years before that tournament. FIFA named MetLife Stadium the 2026 final site in February 2024. The Dallas Cowboys had hoped to land the final at AT&T Stadium, which instead hosted nine matches, the most of any venue, including a semifinal.
FIFA’s presidential election, in which Infantino is seeking a fourth and final term, will be held March 18, 2027, at the FIFA Congress in Rabat.
