Morocco will host World Cup matches in 2030 — the second African country ever to do so, and the first to share the tournament across three continents. The centrepiece is a new 115,000-seat stadium rising outside Casablanca that would be the largest football stadium on earth. The one thing nobody can yet tell you is where the final will be played.
FIFA formally appointed Morocco, Spain and Portugal as the hosts of the 2030 World Cup on 11 December 2024. The tournament marks 100 years since the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, so one match each will also be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay as centenary celebrations before the main event moves to Europe and North Africa. In all, 23 stadiums are proposed — 20 across the three main hosts, plus the three in South America.
Morocco’s six stadiums
Morocco’s bid puts forward six venues in six cities, with a combined capacity of more than 400,000 seats. The figures below come from the official YallaVamos bid portfolio:
| City | Stadium | Capacity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benslimane (Casablanca region) | Grand Stade Hassan II | 115,000 | New build, under construction |
| Tangier | Grand Stade de Tanger | 75,600 | Renovated |
| Rabat | Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah | 68,700 | Rebuilt |
| Fès | Stade de Fès | 55,800 | Upgraded |
| Agadir | Grand Stade d’Agadir | 46,000 | Upgraded |
| Marrakech | Grand Stade de Marrakech | 45,860 | Upgraded |
The headline is the Grand Stade Hassan II. Planned for 115,000 gross seats (108,800 net for tournament use), it would be the biggest football-specific stadium in the world — bigger than the Maracanã, bigger than Wembley. It is being built at Benslimane, in the Casablanca region, with a tented roof inspired by traditional Moroccan moussem gatherings. Groundworks began in August 2024; by 2026, around 5,000 workers were on site across three shifts, with the project reported about 40% complete and completion targeted for late 2027. The stadium alone is estimated to cost more than $1 billion.
The other five venues are a mix of rebuilding and renovation. Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah — the ground that hosted the opening match and the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in December 2025 and January 2026 — has been rebuilt from the ground up, and Tangier’s stadium, which hosted Club World Cup matches, has been expanded. Fès, Agadir and Marrakech receive major upgrades. Morocco’s six venues would be the second-largest national share of the tournament, after Spain’s eleven and ahead of Portugal’s three.
The race for the final
Nothing about the 2030 final is settled, and that is the most interesting contest in the tournament before a ball is kicked. On 10 September 2026, the president of Morocco’s football federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, told a rally in Bouznika that the final would be played at Benslimane, arguing that the largest capacity should decide it. FIFA stated the same month that no final decision has been taken. Spain is pushing just as hard, with Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and Barcelona’s rebuilt Camp Nou — due to reach about 105,000 seats when finished — in the race.
The argument for Morocco is capacity: at 115,000, Hassan II would be the largest venue under consideration. The argument against it is that FIFA weighs infrastructure, hosting conditions and operational requirements as well, and that the Bernabéu and Camp Nou are established grounds in cities that already host football’s biggest occasions. FIFA is due to inspect the candidate cities in November and December 2026; expect the venue picture to firm up after that. Until FIFA speaks, any claim about the final is a bid, not a fact.
How Morocco got here
The 2030 appointment ends a long pursuit. Morocco bid unsuccessfully for the World Cup five times — for 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026 — before joining Spain and Portugal in a joint bid that FIFA accepted. The country has hosted the Africa Cup of Nations twice, in 1988 and again in December 2025, when nine stadiums in six cities staged the tournament as a full-scale rehearsal for 2030.
The timing matters for African football. Morocco’s run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — the first African team ever to reach that stage — changed how the continent is seen in world football. Hosting in 2030, with African teams playing World Cup matches on African soil for only the second time since South Africa 2010, is the next step. The tournament runs from June to 21 July 2030, when the final will be played.
What it means — and what to watch
For Morocco, the World Cup is an infrastructure project as much as a football tournament: six stadiums, upgraded rail and road links between the host cities, and a test of whether the venues can justify themselves once the tournament leaves. The Fès, Agadir and Marrakech stadiums in particular will need a life after 2030, or they risk becoming the white elephants that have followed World Cups elsewhere.
For the rest of Africa, the significance is simpler. A World Cup partly hosted in Africa, four years after an African team reached the semi-finals, puts the continent at the centre of the sport’s biggest event in its centenary year. Watch three things next: FIFA’s venue inspections at the end of 2026, the confirmation of the final venue, and the release of the full match schedule — none of which has happened yet. When they do, this guide will be updated.
Related reading: how Africa performed at the 2026 World Cup, our guide to AFCON 2027 in East Africa, and what Dakar 2026 leaves behind for African mega-events. More in Fifa World Cup.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2030 World Cup?
The tournament runs from June to 21 July 2030, when the final will be played. The exact match schedule has not yet been published by FIFA.
Which countries host the 2030 World Cup?
Morocco, Spain and Portugal are the main hosts. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each host one centenary match to mark 100 years since the first World Cup in 1930.
How many stadiums will Morocco use?
Six: the new Grand Stade Hassan II at Benslimane (115,000 seats), plus venues in Tangier, Rabat, Fès, Agadir and Marrakech.
Where will the 2030 World Cup final be played?
Not decided. Morocco’s federation president has claimed it for Benslimane, but FIFA said in September 2026 that no decision has been taken. Madrid’s Bernabéu and Barcelona’s Camp Nou are also in contention.
