Gianni Infantino has offered Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for public backing, as the FIFA president fights to save his job amid the fiercest crisis of his decade-long reign.
According to reports, Infantino has promised Moroccan officials that the showpiece match will land at the still-unfinished 115,000-seat Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca rather than Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Britain’s The Times reports that Infantino, currently in Morocco, promised the Kingdom the right to stage the 2030 final at the new Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca.
The offer reportedly comes with strings attached: Morocco must openly declare its support for Infantino as calls mount for him to step down The catch is that Morocco must publicly declare its support for him against the growing calls for his departure.
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Infantino has based himself in Morocco this week, summoning FIFA staff to crisis talks as he scrambles to shore up his position Infantino ordered key staff to an emergency meeting in Morocco this week to try to rescue his presidency.
The trouble traces back to his abandoned scheme to sell off a chunk of the World Cup’s commercial rights Infantino’s scrapped World Cup plan sought to sell up to a 20% stake in the World Cup to private investors, generating an estimated $4.2 billion.
Opponents branded it a threat to football’s non-profit foundations, warning it would hand shareholders more say than the sport itself.
The backlash has snowballed. UEFA has already suspended its member federations from FIFA competitions, England and Wales have withdrawn support, and FIFA’s own chief operating officer accused Infantino of running a “one-person” operation that blindsided staff Infantino has lost support from the English Football Association, the Welsh Football Association and more in his bid for reelection as FIFA president after the Union of European Football Associations voted to boycott all FIFA competitions following Infantino’s failed private equity plan.
Morocco has long stood among Infantino’s most dependable allies since his 2016 election, earning co-hosting rights for 2030 alongside Spain and Portugal.
But Infantino now worries that support is thinning elsewhere particularly from Saudi Arabia, hosts of the 2034 tournament, whose silence has unsettled FIFA insiders.
Whether Morocco accepts the bargain remains unclear. Spain, for its part, insists the final belongs at home, with Spanish federation president Rafael Louzán declaring his country will lead the tournament regardless.
With FIFA’s next presidential vote set for March 2027 in Morocco itself, Infantino’s gambit could shape not just where the final is played, but who’s still in charge to watch it.
