FIFA have hit back at reports claiming they offered Morocco the hosting of the 2030 World Cup final in a bid to win African support ahead of the elections.
British newspaper The Times reported that Infantino, currently in Morocco, promised to hand the Kingdom the right to stage the 2030 final at the new Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca, on the condition that Morocco publicly back him amid mounting pressure calling for his departure.
Morocco co-host the 2030 finals alongside Spain and Portugal, with three opening matches heading to South America to mark the 100th anniversary of the first edition of the tournament.
The Moroccans want the final at the Hassan II Stadium, a 115,000-capacity venue set to become the largest football ground in the world once complete. The Santiago Bernabéu is its most prominent rival for the showpiece.
FIFA moved quickly to shut the reports down, denying that they had made any promises to Morocco over the 2030 final.
A FIFA spokesperson told “AS“: “It is untrue and misleading to claim that the FIFA president made any promises regarding the staging of the 2030 World Cup final. FIFA will take its decision at the appropriate time.”
According to the Spanish newspaper, Infantino met his inner circle in Morocco on Wednesday to clarify where each party stands in the crisis and to work out a strategy for recovering the momentum lost after the failed bid to sell 20% of the World Cup and the rest of FIFA’s tournaments to numerous investment funds, some even linked to Trump.
AS said: “The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has always been the strongest candidate to host the final match, especially given the good relationship between Infantino and Florentino Pérez. However, the close ties between FIFA’s number one official and Morocco have recently put this preference at risk.”
It continued: “For while FIFA’s political relations with Morocco and its allies have strengthened, its relations with Spain in this regard have diminished.”
It went on: “In fact, the last meeting between the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez and Infantino was during a short visit to New York a year ago. The FIFA president has not visited Spain since Rubiales was president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Nevertheless, he has visited Morocco four times in two years, opened a FIFA office there, and will host the next meeting of the executive committee, which will also see the elections held, in Rabat.”
It concluded: “The Spanish Football Federation is confident that the final match will remain at the Bernabéu Stadium, which is their choice among the two Spanish stadiums, although they have recently become sceptical of FIFA’s dealings taking place behind the scenes.”