Lekjaa steps up Morocco’s bid to host 2030 World Cup final

Fouzi Lekjaa has renewed Morocco’s campaign to stage the 2030 World Cup final, insisting the country will continue to press its case despite increasingly confident claims from Spain.

The president of the Federation Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) spoke during a symbolic visit to Benslimane, the location proposed for Morocco’s future Grand Stade Hassan II. The stadium is the country’s suggested venue for the final of the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

Lekjaa’s remarks amounted to an appeal for national unity, while also serving as a pointed response to Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes, president of Spain’s National Sports Council. Uribes said last week that Spain had “sufficiently strong arguments” to secure the right to host the final.

The exchange is the latest in a series of public interventions between the two countries as they compete for the showpiece match. Spain has increasingly promoted its own case, with the Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid, being put forward as its proposed venue.

Lekjaa had already addressed the issue in an interview with Jeune Afrique a week earlier. Without naming Spain directly, he suggested that only the Spanish side was allowing the debate to become a rivalry because it feared losing the decision.

He said Morocco was instead concentrating on its preparations and efforts, arguing that the balance of the contest was shifting in his country’s favour.

Those comments followed a sharper response to Marca, the Madrid-based newspaper, which has repeatedly published reports presenting Spain as the favourite to host the final.

At a meeting organised by the Authenticity and Modernity Party in Bouznika, Lekjaa reacted visibly angrily to the newspaper’s coverage.

“Every day, I hear Marca’s blah-blah… The final will be in Benslimane, at the Hassan II stadium,” he said.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has yet to announce its decision, meaning the public contest between Morocco and Spain is set to continue. Morocco is seeking to make the planned Grand Stade Hassan II the focal point of its bid, while Spain is relying on the prestige of the Santiago Bernabeu.

For now, neither country has been awarded the final, but Lekjaa’s latest comments make clear that Morocco will not retreat from its ambition to stage the match.