THE men’s World Cup soccer cup final will be held in Spain, the president of the country’s football federation has announced.
Spain will host the 100th anniversary of the competition in 2030 alongside Portugal and Morocco.
Three celebratory matches will be played before the tournament in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina to mark the milestone.
Morocco also expressed their interest in hosting the final.
They wanted the game to be hosted in Casablanca at the Grand Stade Hassan II, a large stadium currently under construction, which will hold 115,000 spectators.
Rafael Louzan, the President of the Spanish Football Federation, had another idea in mind.
At an event in Madrid, Louzan said: “Spain has proven its organisational ?capacity over many years. It will be the leader of the 2030 World Cup, and the final of that World Cup will be held here.”
Louzan gave no hints about where the match would be hosted although Barcelona’s Camp Nou and Madrid’s Bernabeu are considered as top contenders.
He also referred to the chaotic scenes at Afcon’s recent final in Rabat.
The Senegalese team stormed off the pitch after Morocco was awarded a penalty via VAR.
Brahim Diaz, Morocco’s star player, had to wait 15 minutes to take the spot-kick.
He missed and Senegal clinched it in extra time.
The tournament, hosted in Morocco, was viewed as a trial run for the World Cup.
Louzan doesn’t think Morocco is up to the job of hosting the final.
He said: “Morocco is really undergoing a transformation in every sense with magnificent stadiums. We must recognise what has been done well. But in the Africa Cup of Nations, we have seen scenes that damage the image of world football.”
Fifa, the world governing body for the sport, actually has the final say over where the match will be held.
Alongside the Portuguese and Moroccan football federations, Fifa are yet to comment on Louzan’s comments.
Last year, FIFA said it was premature to determine the 2030 final venue, pointing out that the 2026 final city was only revealed two years in advance.
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