Bernabeu? Camp Nou? Casablanca? The race to host 2030 World Cup final
Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the World Cup in 2030, FIFA announced on Wednesday.
The three countries' joint bid had been the frontrunner for a while, but this week we also heard the surprise news that the tournament's first three matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
But only one of the countries can hold the final — and we have already seen some positioning in the race to land it.
One thing has been very clear throughout Spain's attempt to host the 2030 World Cup, from the initial idea of an 'Iberian bid' with just Portugal, through the brief idea that Ukraine would host some games, to joining up with Morocco and, finally, this week's inclusion of three games in South America.
Everyone in Spain has always been sure that the final would be held in Real Madrid's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu — just as it was in 1982 when Italy beat West Germany 3-1.
Given FIFA rules state the final must be held in a stadium with a capacity of at least 80,000, Barcelona's 99,000-capacity Camp Nou could in theory be an option, but its biggest ambition would most likely be a semi-final.
However, neither Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez nor interim Spanish Football Association (RFEF) president Pedro Rocha mentioned the final or the Bernabeu in their statements this week after hosting rights were settled.
Spain won the men's World Cup in South Africa in 2010 (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
Morocco, meanwhile, has the ambition to host the final in Casablanca, in a stadium that is not yet built but is planned to become the country's largest, with a capacity of 90,000.
However, the Moroccan Football Association knows there are other cities and other candidate stadiums. They see it as far from certain that their new
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