FIFA to inspect six Moroccan host cities for the 2030 World Cup

FIFA announced on Tuesday that it will send a delegation to Morocco, Spain and Portugal in November and December to inspect the cities and stadiums bidding to host matches at the 2030 World Cup.

Six Moroccan cities are on the list: Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat and Tangier. The delegation will also travel to Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and to Barcelona, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Madrid, San Sebastián, Seville and Zaragoza in Spain.

The visits are meant to assess whether the candidate venues are ready and meet the technical and organisational requirements for staging World Cup matches. FIFA said its delegation will meet local, regional and national authorities, stadium operators, and officials in charge of transport, accommodation and logistics. Additional sites could still be added to the programme as the evaluation continues.

No final list of host stadiums and cities has been set, and FIFA has not yet named the venue for the final, a match both Morocco and Spain hope to stage. FIFA said the allocation of matches, and the categories of fixtures each city will host, will only be decided once the final list of venues is approved and the full tournament schedule is complete.

Morocco, Spain and Portugal are co-hosting the 2030 edition. Three opening matches will be played separately in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, marking the centenary of the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930.