FIFA has continued its tour of candidate host cities for the 2030 World Cup, with Spain and Morocco competing to stage the final.
Technical inspection at Zaragoza's La Romareda
AS reported that FIFA's technical staff inspected progress at Zaragoza's La Romareda stadium on Wednesday. According to the same outlet, the La Romareda project is running slightly behind schedule.
Spanish stadium tour and battle to host the final
FIFA began visiting candidate cities in Spain, Portugal and Morocco in November to assess their suitability to host matches. The stadium tour covers the nine venues remaining in Spain's bid file after Malaga and La Coruña withdrew.
Valencia and Vigo remain in the running to be included in the Spanish bid. The Santiago Bernabéu and Camp Nou are Spain's two options in the race to host the final.
FIFA's delegation was due to travel to Madrid after Zaragoza, where Rafael Louzán, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, would receive it. Louzán skipped Spain's trip to Prague to host the FIFA delegation. The Santiago Bernabéu hosts the delegation on Thursday, and the Metropolitano hosts it the following day.
Morocco's Hassan II stadium and upcoming visit
Morocco's Hassan II stadium is still under construction near Casablanca. The Hassan II stadium has a planned capacity of around 115,000.
FIFA officials will visit Morocco before the end of November, after touring the three stadiums in Portugal.
Joint hosting plan and timeline for city selection
Morocco, Spain and Portugal will share the 2030 World Cup, while Morocco and Spain are competing to host the final. FIFA said in September that it would settle on the final's venue "in due course".
FIFA will confirm the final selection of host cities in the second quarter of 2027.
