FIFA has denied reports that its president Gianni Infantino promised Morocco the 2030 World Cup final in return for public support ahead of an election.
The claim was published by The Times, which reported that Infantino, currently in Morocco, had offered the country the right to stage the final at the new Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca. The alleged proposal was said to be conditional on Morocco publicly backing Infantino as pressure grows for him to leave his position.
A FIFA spokesperson told Spanish newspaper AS: “It is incorrect and misleading to claim that the FIFA president has made any promises regarding the organisation of the 2030 World Cup final. FIFA will take its decision in due course.”
Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. Three opening matches will also be played in South America to mark the centenary of the first World Cup.
The country is seeking to stage the final at the Hassan II Stadium, which is planned to have a capacity of 115,000. Once completed, it is expected to become the largest football stadium in the world.
The Santiago Bernabeu is regarded as the leading alternative venue for the showpiece match.
AS reported that Infantino met his close advisers in Morocco on Wednesday to clarify the positions of those involved in the current crisis. The meeting was also intended to develop a strategy to rebuild momentum after an unsuccessful attempt to launch a project involving the sale of 20% of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to a number of investment funds, some of which were linked to Donald Trump.
The Spanish newspaper said the Santiago Bernabeu had long been considered the favourite to host the final, particularly because of the strong relationship between Infantino and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
However, it added that the close ties between FIFA’s president and Morocco had put that preference under threat in recent months.
“While FIFA’s political relations with Morocco and its allies have strengthened, its relations with Spain in this regard have diminished,” AS reported.
The newspaper also highlighted the limited recent contact between Infantino and Spain’s political and football authorities. It said his most recent meeting with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez took place during a brief visit to New York a year ago.
Infantino has not visited Spain since Luis Rubiales was president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. By contrast, he has visited Morocco four times in the past two years, opened a FIFA office there and is due to host the next meeting of the FIFA Council in Rabat. The elections will also take place at that meeting.
Despite the uncertainty, the Royal Spanish Football Federation remains confident that the final will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu, its preferred choice of the two Spanish stadiums under consideration.
AS said Spanish officials had recently become more sceptical about FIFA’s behind-the-scenes dealings, despite their continued belief that the Madrid venue will retain the final.
