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Topline FIFA president Gianni Infantino is offering Morocco the rights to host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for supporting his reelection as FIFA president, according to The Times , extending the proposal as he faces calls to resign following a controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup .
Infantino wants a formal statement of support from Morocco, The Times reported, noting Saudi Arabia, which is typically one of his biggest supporters, has yet to endorse him.
Infantino ordered key staff to an emergency meeting in Morocco this week “to try to rescue his presidency,” according to The Times, with unnamed sources telling the outlet Infantino has promised the World Cup final will be hosted at the 115,000-seat Hassan II, an under-construction stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.
Infantino has lost support from the English Football Association, the Welsh Football Association and more in his bid for reelection as FIFA president after the Union of European Football Associations, the European governing body, voted to boycott all FIFA competitions following Infantino’s failed private equity plan.
The 2030 World Cup is slated to be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with the first three matches played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to celebrate the tournament’s 100th anniversary.
Spanish Football Association president Rafael Louzán said at the start of this year Spain “will be the leader of the 2030 World Cup and the final of that World Cup will be here.” Louzán has not changed his mind since, telling reporters this summer he has “no doubt whatsoever that there is no justification for Spain not to host the grand final of the Centenary World Cup.”
FIFA’s next presidential election is scheduled to take place in March 2027 in Morocco. Another term for Infantino would mark his fourth and final term as president.
Infantino’s scrapped World Cup plan sought to sell up to a 20% stake in the World Cup to private investors, generating an estimated $4.2 billion. Critics viewed the idea as a threat to FIFA’s non-profit model in that it could heavily commercialize the World Cup and prioritize shareholders over the game of soccer. FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said last week staff were “deceived” by a lack of transparency around Infantino’s plan and called it a “one-person” scheme. Several soccer governing bodies signaled they would vote against the idea. Infantino now faces backlash from the entities as well as mounting calls to resign, including from former Real Madrid and Barcelona star Luís Figo and U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
FIFA’s Infantino Scrambles To Save Job After World Cup Equity Plan Backfires (Forbes)
Can Infantino Get 106 Votes For FIFA World Cup Plan? Here’s How Members Are Leaning (Forbes)
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