Morocco’s prime minister has ordered the head of the country’s football body to refrain from promising the 2030 World Cup final after Spain voiced its own claim.
The next men’s tournament is to be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, although the first three games will take place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay in celebration of the competition’s 100th anniversary.
While the list of potential venues has been provided to the world football governing body FIFA, they have not yet been agreed upon, just as the location for the competition’s showpiece event has not.
Speaking at a rally in Casablanca hosted by one of Morocco’s political parties, Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF), boasted it would be an “honour” for the city to host the final.
FIFA stated it will “make a decision in due course” concerning the stadium lineup and final venue.
However, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch issued a direct warning to Lekjaa while addressing the attendees at a political rally: “Do not offer to host the big final game in Morocco while we still have not discussed the matter with our allies, Spain and Portugal.”
Akhannouch added: “There must be some respect, brothers. Stop using electoral promises to pull the rug out from under us. These are huge matters. Deciding where the final will be held is a major issue.”
Rafael Louzan, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has already said he hopes for the final to be in his country and believes their claim has been strengthened following the men’s national team securing the second World Cup triumph in July.
Louzan said: “Although there is no decision, I think that Spain has to be the place because it cannot be otherwise,” he explained to Cadena SER. “As you know, we are currently world champions.
“I think Spain’s organising capacity for big events, which nobody puts into question, leads reality to dictate that the grand final cannot and must not take place anywhere other than Spain.”
Spain’s triumph over Argentina for this year’s men’s World Cup saw no venue confirmed for the final until February 2024 – two years ahead of the matches kicking off.
Morocco is building a potential 115,000-seat stadium which, if built, would be the biggest in the world. In Spain, the Bernabéu stadium has recently undergone a refurbishment, increasing its capacity to 83,000, while Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou will hold 105,000 upon completion of its renovation work.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c4gv7n50lnwo
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