Morocco mega stadium could take 2030 World Cup final from Real Madrid’s Bernabéu

Spain and Portugal want the final to be played in Madrid, while Morocco will push for its new venue near Casablanca.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has finalised its plans for the FIFA World Cup 2030 and has confirmed it will build a new “mega stadium” in Benslimane, near Casablanca, in time for the tournament, which the North African nation will host alongside Spain and Portugal. Not only that, but the federation plan for the venue to host the final, which Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is the frontrunner for.

How much will the Casablanca stadium cost?

The Moroccan government and state-owned fund CDG have agreed a deal to finance the new stadium for a total cost of around $500 million, which would become the biggest soccer ground in Africa and the second largest in the world. It is expected that construction will be completed by 2028, too late for the upcoming African Cup of Nations, which will be played in Morocco in 2025.

What criteria must World Cup final venues meet?

Although their World Cup 2030 co-hosts are in agreement that the final be played in Spain, Morocco hasn’t given up hope of being able to persuade them otherwise. The only criteria stadiums must meet for hosting a World Cup final is a capacity of more than 80,000, which is the case for the Bernabéu, Camp Nou and the as yet unnamed new venue near Casablanca.

In addition to the new stadium, Morocco’s World Cup proposal includes the renovation of five other venues which have already been selected to host games, in Tangier, Rabat, Agadir, Marrakech and Fez. All must be upgraded in time for the aforementioned Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco will also spend big on 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

The estimated renovation cost is expected to come to around $920 million, which means the Moroccan government will be investing over $1.4 billion on hosting the two tournaments in the space of three years.

Although Morocco plan to carry out work, in one way or another, on six different stadiums, it is possible only five of them will be used at World Cup 2030. Portugal have already settled on three, while Spain has so far put 15 different stadiums forward to FIFA, which they must whittle down to 10.