The venue for the 2030 World Cup final is unlikely to be confirmed until 2028, with Morocco and Spain continuing their claims to host the tournament’s showpiece match.
The World Cup will be staged jointly by Morocco, Spain and Portugal. With four years to go, three stadiums are viewed as the leading candidates: the future Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca, the Santiago-Bernabeu in Madrid and Camp Nou in Barcelona.
However, FIFA has yet to make an official decision, despite increasingly vocal campaigning from both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The contest has intensified in recent months, with Morocco and Spain making successive efforts to strengthen their bids. Rafael Louzan, president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), reiterated on Wednesday that Spain would seek to secure the final, naming the home grounds of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona as possible venues.
“We will try to have it at one of the two great stadiums,” he said, while making clear his belief that the World Cup should conclude in Spain.
That confidence 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 decision had been made and that it would be taken “in due course”.
Morocco has a significant argument in its favour in the shape of the Grand Stade Hassan II. The stadium is currently being built in Benslimane, in the Casablanca region, and is expected to hold 115,000 spectators. Its design has been developed in part to meet the requirements of a World Cup final.
Morocco also has support from Africa, including Senegal, amid the dispute between the two countries since the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Decision could follow 2026 precedent
According to Mundo Deportivo, FIFA may not officially name the stadium for the 2030 final until 2028, just two years before the tournament begins.
The Catalan newspaper has pointed to the process for the 2026 World Cup as a precedent. Although the United States, Canada and Mexico were awarded the tournament in 2018, the venue for the final was not confirmed until February 2024.
FIFA eventually selected MetLife Stadium, in the New York-New Jersey region, at a point just over two years before the competition started.
A similar timetable could therefore apply to 2030. Despite repeated claims in recent weeks from figures in both Morocco and Spain, Casablanca, Madrid and Barcelona all remain in contention.
The final decision rests with FIFA.
