Spain to host 2030 World Cup final, federation says

The 2030 men’s World Cup final will be held in Spain, the president of the country’s football federation has said.

Spain, Portugal and Morocco are co-hosting the tournament, while the opening three matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the competition’s 100th anniversary.

Morocco has expressed interest in staging the final but Spanish Football Federation chief Rafael Louzan said: “Spain has proven its organisational capacity over many years.

“It will be the leader of the 2030 World Cup and the final of that World Cup will be held here.”

Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium and Barcelona’s Nou Camp are viewed as the leading candidates to host the match, but Louzan provided no further details.

The BBC has approached world governing body Fifa, which has the final say on where the match will be played, and the Portuguese and Moroccan football federations for comment.

Morocco wants to stage the final in Casablanca at the Grand Stade Hassan II, which is due to be completed in 2028 and expected to hold 115,000 people.

Last year, Morocco’s Royal Football Federation president Faouzi Lekjaa expressed his wish to see the stadium stage a final against Spain.

However, on Monday, at an event organised by the Madrid Sports Press Association, Spain’s Louzan also referred to the wild scenes at the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) earlier this month.

Morocco had talked up the tournament as a test event for 2030 but it ended in chaotic scenes in the capital city Rabat.

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, already angered by a decision to disallow his side a goal in injury-time with the score 0-0, ushered his team from the field after hosts Morocco were awarded a penalty following a video assistant referee check.

There was also unrest in the stands as Senegal’s supporters tried to force their way onto the pitch.

Following a delay of about 17 minutes, Brahim Diaz’s tame ‘Panenka’ spot-kick was saved and Senegal went on to claim a 1-0 victory in extra time.

A win for Morocco would have seen the country clinch its first Afcon title since 1976.

“Morocco is really undergoing a transformation in every sense, with magnificent stadiums,” Louzan said. “We must recognise what has been done well.

“But in the Africa Cup of Nations, we have seen scenes that damage the image of world football.”

Fifa said last year it was premature to decide the venue for the 2030 final, saying the host city for the 2026 World Cup final was revealed only two years before the tournament.

Spain have put forward 11 stadiums to host games at the 2030 World Cup, with Morocco set to use six and Portugal three.

The opening matches will take place in South America as Fifa marks the 1930 competition that was staged and won by Uruguay.

Argentina were the beaten finalists, while Paraguay is where Conmebol, the South American football confederation, is based.