"Stop using electoral promises to pull the rug out from under us." That was Morocco's Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, publicly dressing down his own country's football federation president at a political rally — and he had a point.
Royal Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa had told a party event that the province of Benslimane would have the "honour" of hosting the 2030 World Cup final. One problem: FIFA hasn't decided that. Not even close. The governing body confirmed only that a decision would be made "in due course," with Spain, Portugal, and Morocco all in contention as co-hosts.
A promise that wasn't Lekjaa's to make
Akhannouch's frustration was pointed and specific. "Do not offer to host the big final game in Morocco while we still have not discussed the matter with our allies, Spain and Portugal. There should be some respect, brothers."
That's a prime minister publicly telling a federation chief to sit down and think before he speaks. The RMFF didn't bother responding to press requests for comment on Lekjaa's remarks — which tells you most of what you need to know about their position.
What makes this messier is context. Morocco's proposed 115,000-seat stadium in Benslimane — the one apparently earmarked for this promised final — was only 30% complete as of May. Officials are targeting the end of 2027 for completion. That's a tight window for a venue of that scale, and dangling it as a done deal in front of voters before construction is even halfway done is either wildly optimistic or straightforwardly reckless.
The FIFA precedent worth noting
For reference, FIFA didn't announce New Jersey as the host of the 2026 World Cup final until February 2024 — the tournament kicks off in June 2026. These decisions move slowly and deliberately, involving negotiations between multiple federations and governments. Lekjaa apparently skipped that part.
Punting on Morocco to land the final just got complicated — not because the stadium can't be built in time, but because the political friction between Rabat and its own federation is now public. FIFA picks hosts it can trust to deliver cleanly. This kind of noise doesn't help the case.
Akhannouch called the final's location "a major issue." It is. And it's one that Morocco's federation president just made significantly harder to resolve quietly.
