They are not yet officially designated, only shortlisted, but the three host countries of the 2030 World Cup – Spain, Portugal and Morocco – are already vying for the best shares of the cake. The final, in particular. Morocco was the first to speak out, suggesting that it host the final match of the tournament in its future stadium in Rabat. But Spain retaliated. The President of the Spanish Football Federation, Pedro Rocha, took advantage of a press conference with his Moroccan and Portuguese counterparts in Salé, Morocco, to assure them that nothing had yet been decided. “No decision has been taken regarding the final,” he told the media. The President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, made the same point: “Work is continuing, and we have until the end of June to finalize the project. On the day when everything has been decided in relation to the matches, from kick-off to the final, we’ll communicate the configuration of the bid that we’re going to submit together. The precise number of stadiums will be a matter for technical work. The most important thing is that the philosophy behind the preparation of this project is not based on pre-established positions.” On the Portuguese side, the federation has specified that the project will involve three stadiums in the country.
