The 2030 World Cup final will be held in Casablanca, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Fouzi Lekjaa was reported as saying by Spanish news agency EFE on Thursday, although FIFA has yet to announce the venue.
Soccer’s world governing body has yet to decide between Spain and Morocco, which have been competing to host the tournament’s showpiece match.
“The province of Benslimane will have the honour of hosting the 2030 World Cup final,” Lekjaa told a political party event in Bouznika, Morocco, EFE reported.
Benslimane, about 60 km from Casablanca, is the site of the $1 billion Hassan II stadium, which is being built for the World Cup with a projected capacity of 115,000. It is expected to be the world’s largest football-specific stadium.
Reuters has contacted FIFA and the Royal Spanish Football Federation for comment.
The 2030 World Cup will be a unique tournament, with matches taking place across six countries on three continents. The opening three games will be staged in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, while the majority of the tournament will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
FIFA has yet to finalise all the host cities, but both Morocco and Spain have expressed their desire to stage the final.
“Spain should host the final,” Rafael Louzan, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, told local media earlier this month.
FIFA said in August that media reports claiming president Gianni Infantino had promised the final to Morocco were “false and misleading”.
