FIFA rebukes Morocco’s claim it will host 2030 World Cup final

What the report says

FIFA has pushed back against a claim from Morocco’s football federation that the country has already been awarded the 2030 World Cup final. According to Al Jazeera’s report, FIFA said the venue for the final has not yet been decided and will be chosen later, despite comments attributed to Royal Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa.

Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal. The report notes that this would make Morocco part of only the second World Cup in which an African nation stages final matches, following South Africa in 2010. The final venue issue is significant because it carries both sporting prestige and political weight for the three-host arrangement.

Lekjaa reportedly told a political rally that the final would be held in Benslimane at the under-construction King Hassan II Stadium, a 115,000-seat venue near Casablanca. FIFA, however, told media outlets that the decision remains pending and would be announced “in due course.”

The article also recalls earlier reports that FIFA had denied suggestions that president Gianni Infantino had privately promised Morocco the final. In broader context, host nations often lobby for marquee matches, but FIFA typically confirms key venue choices only after its internal planning process is complete.