Despite the victory of the joint bid between Morocco, Spain and Portugal to organize the 2030 FIFA World Cup, a dispute over hosting the final match has begun to rear its head, especially between Rabat and Madrid, as statements from each party continue, speaking about its right to host the event that brings down the curtain on the most popular sports tournament. In the world.
In this context, the President of the Royal (Union) Moroccan Football League and the Chairman of the 2030 World Cup Committee, Fawzi Lakjaa, spoke about concluding the sports wedding at the new stadium in Casablanca, without deciding the matter finally.
Lakjaa explained – in a statement to Radio Mars yesterday, Thursday – that “the goal is to live with the new generations and the Moroccan, African and international youth, the end of an exceptional world championship in the new stadium in Casablanca. A stadium that will be exceptional by all standards.”
Lakjaa’s statements angered Madrid, whose officials and some media outlets were quick to defend Spain’s hosting of the final.
In statements to the Onda Cerro radio station on Thursday, Spain’s Acting Minister of Sports, Mikel Eceta, expected that the final would be held in his country.
The newspaper “Marca” quoted Lakjaa’s statement, indicating that the Kingdom of Morocco wants to hold the match in the Grand Casablanca Stadium, and that the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation hopes to do so.
In turn, the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” published an analytical article, in which it referred to the future Casablanca stadium, which it said would have the latest equipment and its ability to compete with the stadiums of Spain.
After being asked where he would prefer the final match to be held, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said, “The World Cup final should be held in Madrid. It is the capital of Spain.”
“It should be played at the Santiago Bernabéu, because it is simply the best stadium in the world,” the veteran Italian added.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) had decided to hold 3 matches in the 2030 World Cup in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
This decision comes in commemoration of the centenary of the World Cup, as the first edition was held in 1930 in Uruguay.
Although FIFA has not yet determined the match stadiums, nor how they will be distributed, it has stipulated the availability of 14 stadiums that meet the standard specifications to hold World Cup matches in the three countries.
The opening match of the 2030 World Cup is scheduled to be held at Centenario Stadium in Uruguay, which will witness the centenary celebration of the World Cup. The second and third matches will be held in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively, and then the rest of the tournament matches will be completed in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
If the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the stronghold of the Spanish club Real Madrid, and the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona have a capacity of 80,000 spectators, which makes them closer now to hosting the final, Morocco is betting on the new Casablanca stadium project, which is expected to accommodate 93,000 fans, and therefore it is… Larger than Spain’s two major stadiums.
2023-10-06 17:40:00
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