The race to host the 2030 World Cup final is intensifying, with Barcelona joining Madrid in openly promoting its bid for the tournament’s decisive match. The Spotify Camp Nou has gained a new argument after being selected to host the 2029 Champions League final, while Casablanca’s Grand Stade Hassan II remains a major contender.
According to Marca on Saturday, September 26, FC Barcelona and Catalan institutions are confident in the Camp Nou’s chances. The stadium’s selection by UEFA for the 2029 Champions League final has strengthened their ambitions four years before the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
Barcelona sees the UEFA decision as an additional asset. Once renovation work is completed, the Camp Nou will have a capacity of around 105,000 spectators, an advantage the Catalan club intends to highlight alongside the Grand Stade Hassan II and Santiago Bernabéu.
Berni Álvarez, Sports Councillor of the Government of Catalonia, has openly backed the bid. “It is the best setting for the final. It is not that I am optimistic, I am realistic. I think the best setting for the 2030 World Cup final is the Spotify Camp Nou,” he said on the “Tot Costa” program.
The Catalan official also highlighted the coordinated work behind the bid. “We have so far done the best work, very coordinated with Barcelona City Council and the club, without making noise and certainly without doing what the others have done,” he added.
Álvarez acknowledged that FIFA’s decision will not depend solely on the quality of the bid. “We will have our chances. We will have to be in the right place at the right time. But it will not depend 100% on our work, and that may not be fair. Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with all the steps we are taking because we are doing things properly,” he said.
Laporta also backs the Camp Nou
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has also entered the race, arguing that the final should be played in Barcelona rather than Casablanca or Madrid.
“The World Cup final should be played neither in Casablanca nor in Madrid, it should be played at the Spotify Camp Nou,” he said on the “Què t’hi jugues” program.
Laporta pointed to the stadium’s future capacity as a key argument. “I say this for one reason: 105,000 spectators. I think FIFA will take that into account,” he said.
He also argued that Spain should host the tournament’s final. “A World Cup final has already been held at the Santiago Bernabéu in 1982. With all due respect to Morocco, the 2030 World Cup final should be played on Spanish soil,” he added.
Morocco is meanwhile putting forward the Grand Stade Hassan II in Benslimane. The stadium is under construction and is expected to hold 115,000 spectators, making it one of the Kingdom’s major projects for the 2030 World Cup.
Model of the Grand Hassan II Stadium in Benslimane.
Fouzi Lekjaa has already publicly expressed Morocco’s desire to host the final at the venue. In its Saturday report, Marca also described the Grand Stade Hassan II as the main rival to the Camp Nou in the race.
Madrid’s bid has also faced doubts. José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of the Spanish capital, said this week that he was not optimistic about the Santiago Bernabéu’s chances of hosting the final.
“I am not optimistic about the final being played at the Santiago Bernabéu because I believe they want this final and are logically working at the political and institutional level to obtain it,” he said.
