Morocco Makes Plans to Build World’s Largest Soccer Stadium in an Attempt to be the Hosts of the 2030 World Cup Final Match

The 2030 World Cup will mark the 100th anniversary of FIFA World Cups and will be hosted by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.

In preparation for the 2030 World Cup it is co-hosting with Spain and Portugal, Morocco submitted plans to build the world’s biggest stadium on April 2, 2024. The planned project will cost the country 456 million Euros and will take two years to complete.

Morocco undertook the project in hopes to host the final match of the World Cup. The construction, coupled with scandals in Spain’s soccer world, provides Morocco with an opportunity to be the second African nation to host a World Cup final after South Africa in 2010.

The proposed stadium, called the Grand Stade de Casablanca, will be built in El Mansouria, a town between Casablanca and Rabat. It will have a capacity of 115,000 spectators, surpassing the world’s largest stadium today, the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, which has a capacity of 114,000 viewers. It will be larger than any stadium in either Spain or Portugal.

The stadium will also contain a shopping center, a hotel, and recreation spaces. The architect of the project, Tarik Oualalou, has said that the stadium will be rooted in aspects of traditional Moroccan culture, celebrating Moroccan roots.

Questions still remain in regards to the logistics of the World Cup. Matches will be hosted in cities across the three countries including in Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Fez, Agadir, and Marrakech. The last time that Morocco hosted FIFA matches during the Club World Cup, the country found itself mired in scandal for euthanizing the street dogs of Tangier because of rabies concerns. Activists protested against the killings, but the initiative continued to ensure the city would be up to FIFA safety standards. No policy has been announced for 2030 on how rabies will be mitigated.

The location for the final match of the World Cup has yet to be announced, but with the new stadium and strong efforts to strengthen their soccer infrastructure, Morocco is making a clear bid to be the hosts of the ultimate game. The World Cup will take place in June and July of 2030.