Morocco aims to complete stadium for World Cup final bid by end of 2027, official says

BENSLIMANE, Morocco, May 23 : Morocco aims to complete its proposed stadium for the 2030 World Cup final by the end of next year, an official overseeing the project said on Saturday.

The 115,000-seat stadium near Casablanca faces strong competition from venues in co-hosts Spain. FIFA has yet to decide where the final will be held at the tournament, which will also have Portugal as joint hosts.

Nine months after construction began, the stadium is around 30 per cent complete, with about 40 per cent of the tribunes built, Yassir Soussi, a director at the national agency overseeing infrastructure projects, told Reuters during a site visit.

"Work is being carried out around the clock in three shifts to meet the deadline," he said.

Destined to be the largest soccer venue in the world, the stadium, and its associated facilities, were expected to cost about $1 billion, Soussi said. Authorities plan to connect it to Casablanca and Rabat with new highways and a railway station.

The complex is being built by Moroccan listed firms TGCC and SGTM on a 150-hectare site set among farmland and forest.

The stadium will be covered by a large tent roof inspired by Moroccan tents and designed to allow natural light to filter through, while enclosed botanical gardens would reflect the diversity of Morocco's natural landscapes, architect Tarek Oualalou said.

"The goal is to deurbanise the football experience," he added.