FIFA have flatly denied ever promising Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final. World football's governing body moved to shut down the row sparked by Fouzi Lekjaa, casting fresh doubt over the way the World Cup file is being wielded as a bargaining chip in FIFA's own power struggle.
The denial followed some striking claims from a senior Moroccan football official, who insisted the tournament's showpiece in four years' time would be played at the Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca, a stadium still under construction.
An electoral statement that throws FIFA into confusion
The Spanish newspaper "Marca", citing an official FIFA spokesperson, reported a brief and decisive response: "As announced on 5 August 2026, FIFA will take a decision in due course."
Behind the claims was Fouzi Lekjaa, one of the biggest names in Moroccan football and also the country's deputy minister of finance. He made his remarks during an electoral rally for the liberal Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which is running its campaign today.
None of this was new. Exactly a month earlier, on 5 August, the British newspaper "The Times" published a bombshell report claiming FIFA president Gianni Infantino had offered Morocco the final in exchange for its support. FIFA responded then with the very same line: "It is untrue and misleading to claim that the FIFA president has made any promises regarding the venue of the 2030 World Cup final."
One month on, FIFA find themselves forced to repeat that response word for word, to the same man.
The struggle for influence overshadows the World Cup
All this floundering lays bare the scale of the internal crisis rocking FIFA. The root of it is a controversial plan to sell a share of future World Cup revenues to private investors, a project FIFA eventually abandoned in the face of fierce opposition from the European and Asian confederations.
The Times read FIFA's overtures towards Morocco as part of a fight to cling to power and win African votes ahead of the presidential elections due to take place in Rabat.
For the first time in history, the 2030 World Cup will span six countries. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the vast majority of the matches, while Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay stage the three opening games in honour of the centenary of the first World Cup, held in Montevideo in 1930.
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FIFA have yet to officially announce how the stadiums will be shared among the three main host nations. The venue for the final therefore remains unknown, and everything being said is nothing more than premature electoral promises.