The controversy surrounding the hosting of the 2030 World Cup has intensified after political forces in Spain and Portugal called for a review of the partnership with Morocco in light of the illegal immigration crisis in the Spanish city of Ceuta.
The newspaper "El Mundo" reported that the Spanish parliamentary group Sumar called on the Spanish Football Federation, FIFA and the Portuguese government to conduct a special review of the joint hosting model between Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
In Portugal, the environmental Livre party joined calls to exclude Morocco from the list of countries hosting the World Cup.
These moves come after a large wave of irregular migrants from Morocco to the city of Ceuta in late July, when Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced that about 72,000 migrants had entered the city, 70,000 of whom had returned to Morocco.
In contrast, the English newspaper The Times reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is considering holding the 2030 World Cup final in Morocco instead of Madrid, as part of understandings related to the upcoming FIFA presidential elections scheduled for March 2027.
On Wednesday, Infantino held a meeting with his top aides in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, where he is seeking to persuade the various national federations to issue statements supporting his position.
But FIFA was quick to deny these reports, stressing that talk of making any promises regarding hosting the final was "incorrect and misleading," and that the decision would be made in due course according to official procedures.
Thus, the issue of the 2030 World Cup final remains open, at a time when political pressure is increasing within Spain and Portugal regarding Morocco's continued participation as a partner in organizing the tournament.
