Aziz Akhannouch discusses 2030 World Cup details with Gianni Infantino
Aziz Akhannouch, Prime Minister of Morocco, and Gianni Infantino, President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), met in the framework of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and discussed the preparations for the 2030 World Cup to be organised by the Moroccan kingdom together with Spain and Portugal.
During this cordial meeting, the FIFA President expressed the satisfaction of world football's governing body at the organisation of the World Cup by a hospitable and charming country like Morocco, where the King and the population have a great passion for football, as he told the media present at the press conference. The FIFA President thanked the King of Morocco for being ‘passionate about football, like all Moroccans’ and for ‘everything he does for our sport and for the sport of all Moroccans, football’.
Gianni Infantino praised the work carried out by the North African country and stressed his confidence that ‘Morocco will be a fantastic and wonderful host’. ‘As we know, Morocco is a football nation and everything is in place,’ said the FIFA President. Regarding the development of all the infrastructures for the World Cup on Moroccan territory, Gianni Infantino expressed his total satisfaction with the work being carried out by the Moroccan state and said: ‘We will host the world in Morocco, so we are already expressing our joy. There are important projects, good stadiums, beautiful cities and citizens who will welcome everyone‘.
Gianni Infantino said that the decision of the next FIFA Congress on the organisation of the 2030 World Cup is expected to be made in December to announce the final details of how the World Cup will be staged. ‘After my conversations, and as we know that Morocco is a football country, everything is ready,’ Infantino said. All this taking into account that there are still some details to be finalised for the World Cup, especially regarding the distribution of venues, such as where the final of the World Cup will be held, for which the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid and the Hassan II stadium in Casablanca are both in the running.
Morocco is working hard to get everything ready for the 2030 World Cup, which it will host alongside Spain and Portugal. The Moroccan state is investing a lot of resources in the remodelling of stadiums and the construction of new infrastructures such as the Hassan II stadium in Casablanca, which will be the jewel in the crown of the Moroccan kingdom as host of the World Cup.
With a design inspired by the large tents or traditional Moroccan tents that are set up during large events or traditional social gatherings known as Moussem, the Casablanca stadium will be one of the largest in the world thanks to its capacity for 115,000 spectators. The project has been designed by the American architectural firm Populous, which, in collaboration with the French-Moroccan firm Oulalous + Choi (O+C), won the competition to win the contract to design the Casablanca stadium for the 2030 World Cup. The president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation said the stadium will be available by the end of 2028, with a view to hosting the 2029 Club World Cup to be organised by the North African country.
Other stadiums such as the Grand Stadium of Tangier are also being remodelled to expand their capacity and improve their performance.
Morocco's draft Finance Law for 2025 aims to present a comprehensive programme to prepare the cities that will host the 2030 World Cup, including Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech, Fez and Tangier.
