He said it at a political rally
Faouzi Lekjaa was not at a football event when he dropped it. The president of the Moroccan Football Federation was speaking at a political gathering early in the afternoon when he announced that Benslimane province would stage the 2030 World Cup final.
Then he kept going. A Morocco against France final, he suggested, would be the dream, with a score to settle attached to it. Social media had the clip within minutes.
One problem. Nobody at FIFA has said any of that is true.
Try it for $0.99.
“No decision has been made”
RMC put the question to world football’s governing body on Thursday. The answer was flat: no decision has been taken on the city or the stadium for the final. The outlet added that even the full list of host cities remains open.
So Lekjaa did not reveal a decision. He got ahead of one. What he described is a hope his federation is pushing for, not something signed off.
Bidding races do this constantly. Federations lobby for their own venues, FIFA decides on its own clock, and the gap between the two produces exactly this kind of afternoon.
Three countries, two continents, one centenary
The 2030 tournament belongs to Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with the opening games scheduled in South America to mark 100 years since the first World Cup. That is a lot of venues still waiting on a decision.
The final is the piece everyone wants. Spain has renovated stadiums ready to go. Morocco is betting on a new flagship build. Lekjaa just said out loud what his side has been working toward.
FIFA will take as long as FIFA takes.
Discover the rest of the Football news on our mathodds site and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply