FIFA President Calls Morocco One of World’s Football Hubs

 Infrastructure, investment, and construction projects launched in the framework of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) are part of a continuous strategy aimed at efficiently and sustainably preparing for the hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, stressed Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate for the Budget, on Friday in Rabat.

“The infrastructure, investments, and construction efforts tied to AFCON 2025 are part of a coherent and progressive approach to preparing for the 2030 World Cup, thereby ensuring a sustainable legacy and optimized development of Morocco’s sports, economic, and territorial spheres,” said Lekjaa during a ministerial conference themed “2030 World Cup: Financial, Institutional, and Strategic Challenges,” held at the National School of Administration (ENSA).

An investment of approximately 150 billion dirhams (MAD) is currently underway across the relevant sectors, including the construction of a potable water treatment plant with a capacity of 2 billion cubic meters, intended to meet both industrial and domestic needs, he revealed.

Lekjaa also noted that the financing of transport infrastructure is based on public-private partnerships, supported by annual state contributions of around 1.6 billion MAD until 2030, ensuring continuity and financial viability of the projects.

He emphasized that mobility remains a central challenge among host cities. “The development of the high-speed rail line (LGV) and the regional express network (RER) is already underway, particularly to connect Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, and the southern provinces, thus enhancing Morocco’s territorial and economic integration,” the minister added.

Regarding the financial structure, he stressed that it was designed not to burden the State’s general budget. “An innovative financing and operation model, in partnership with the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) and the National Company for the Construction and Management of Sports Facilities (SONARGES), allows for a 20-year amortization, ensuring investment viability,” he stated.

In addition, Lekjaa announced that work on the two stadiums set to host AFCON 2025 will be completed on schedule: by July 31 for the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, and by August 15 for the Grand Stadium of Tangier.

He underlined that this organizational effort is part of a broader vision encompassing other continental and international women’s competitions, contributing to the strengthening of Morocco’s organizational capacities and its long-term sporting and economic influence.

For her part, ENSA Director General Nada Biaz stated that the co-hosting of the 2030 World Cup is a showcase of Morocco’s boldness, reflecting the Kingdom’s capacity to unite, anticipate, shape the future, and coordinate with neighbors and partners such as Spain and Portugal.

Economically, this event represents a structural investment lever, generating growth, mobility, and regional attractiveness, while mobilizing all state actors around principles of coordination, efficiency, and transparency, she said, underlining the strategic dimension of this ambition, reflecting Morocco’s role as an influential and supportive actor engaged in constructive diplomacy and exemplary partnerships with brotherly and friendly nations.

Morocco has become one of the global centers of football, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“I am very happy and delighted to be here. It’s always a joy and a pleasure to be in Morocco, a country that lives and breathes football every single day,” stated Infantino, upon his arrival Saturday in Rabat.

“Both the men’s and women’s national teams have reached an extremely high level and feature incredible talent,” Infantino emphasized.

Morocco, which will soon host the headquarters of FIFA’s Africa office, has successfully organized sporting events in a “spectacular” fashion, thanks in particular to the efforts made by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in recent years, he noted.

According to the FIFA president, the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) in Morocco is enjoying “great success”, both in terms of athletic performance and spectator attendance. He also pointed out that Morocco is preparing to host five consecutive editions of the U-17 Women’s World Cup, the 2025 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), as well as the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, extended on Thursday his condolences to the family of Ahmed Faras, describing the late Moroccan football icon as “an exceptional leader, both on and off the field.”

In a message published on the CAF website, Motsepe conveyed his deep condolences, as well as those of CAF’s 54 member associations, to Faras’s family, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), and the entire Moroccan football community.

Faras, who passed away on Wednesday in Mohammedia at the age of 78 after a long illness, was named African Player of the Year in 1975 and led Morocco to its first CAF Africa Cup of Nations title in 1976.

“His contributions to football in Morocco and on the African Continent laid the foundation for the current globally respected Moroccan and African Football players,” Motsepe said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, teammates, the [Royal Moroccan Football Federation] and its President Fouzi Lekjaa, and the people of Morocco. Ahmed Faras will forever live in our hearts and minds. May his Soul Rest in Peace,” he added.

Born in 1946 in Mohammedia, Faras earned his first call-up to Morocco’s U-23 side in 1965 before joining the senior national team a year later. During his international career, he featured at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico and the Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in 1972, 1976, which Morocco won, and 1978. He also represented Morocco at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, reaching the second round.

At club level, Faras spent his entire career with Chabab Mohammedia from 1965 to 1982, winning the Moroccan league title in 1980 and the Throne Cup in 1972 and 1975.

Individually, he was the top scorer in the national league in 1969 and 1973 with 16 goals each season, and won the African Ballon d’Or in 1975, a crowning achievement that elevated his legacy on the continent.

Morocco’s Government Council on Thursday approved a bill to establish the “Morocco 2030 Foundation,” a new body tasked with overseeing preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which the Kingdom is co-hosting.

Bill No. 35.25, presented by Minister Delegate for the Budget Fouzi Lekjaa, forms part of the implementation of directives issued by HM King Mohammed VI during the Council of Ministers held on December 4, 2024.

Speaking at a press briefing after the weekly cabinet meeting, Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas said the Foundation will coordinate and monitor development projects linked to the 2030 World Cup and ensure Morocco meets its commitments under the tournament’s specifications.

Baitas added that the initiative aligns with HM the King’s vision of sport as a tool for sustainable and inclusive development, as well as a driver of youth integration and territorial development.

He noted that hosting the 2030 World Cup—alongside other major events such as the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations—reinforces Morocco’s status as a hub for international events and a meeting point of civilizations.

The Morocco 2030 Foundation will adopt a participatory approach involving government bodies, public institutions, local authorities, civil society, the private sector, the Moroccan diaspora, and the broader football community, including African partners, Baitas said.

As it prepares to host major international sporting events, the Kingdom of Morocco has placed football at the heart of its public policy, undertaking massive investments in infrastructure, according to the French sports daily L’Équipe.

“Behind the resilience of Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi during the 2022 Qatar World Cup—a performance that captivated the world—lies another reality: that of a country that has embedded football into its core public strategies,” writes the renowned outlet in an article named “Ahead of the 2030 World Cup, Morocco Pulls Out All Stops to Enhance Infrastructure.”

In an in-depth feature exploring “the foundations of this rapidly growing footballing nation,” the newspaper highlights, with supporting photographs, the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, inaugurated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2019.

Spread over 35 hectares on the edge of the vast Maâmora Forest, the complex cost nearly €60 million and should be profitable within six years, according to L’Équipe, citing Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).

“The establishment of the complex has allowed us to host all 25 national teams on-site, including futsal and beach soccer squads. This has significantly reduced accommodation and transport costs,” explains Lekjaa.

The center, managed as a joint-stock company, is a hub for a wide range of events and audiences: from referee academy classes and federation training seminars to CAF meetings and even the African Ballon d’Or ceremony. According to the article’s author, several FIFA departments will soon be based there, near the future national football museum.

The complex also includes eleven football pitches, five hotels with spacious rooms, a mosque next to an Olympic swimming pool, and a cutting-edge medical center, the report adds.

For the purposes of the article, L’Équipe also visited the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier, which is undergoing extensive renovations in preparation for upcoming competitions.

Originally inaugurated in 2011 with over 45,000 seats surrounding an athletics track, the stadium was first refurbished in 2019. However, with the 2030 World Cup on the horizon, the venue is now being transformed to meet FIFA standards, expanding to 62,544 seats, adding luxury boxes, and enhancing all facilities.

As part of this large-scale transformation, 1,200 workers have installed a 55,000 m² metal roof structure, reportedly the second-largest in the world after the Maracanã. The Kingdom has invested more than €340 million to upgrade the stadium, the article details.

“With rows of seats in ocean blue and soft white tones, the Tangier stadium evokes a sense of calm,” the paper continues, describing “immense corridors around the pitch, leading to nearly 142 skyboxes, some vast as continents, others perched high with panoramic views of the Mediterranean.”

Ahead of the 2030 World Cup, Morocco will host two major trial events: the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (July 5–26), starting this Saturday, and the Men’s edition (December 21 – January 18).

In recent years, Morocco has made substantial investments in its sports sector, the specialized publication concludes.

 Rachida Elomari, a young supporter of Wydad Athletic Club of Casablanca, became the millionth spectator of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup held in the United States, the FIFA reports. 

Nine-year-old Rachida Elomari, who lives in the US state of Virginia, had never had the chance to attend a match in a stadium until her favorite club faced the Italian football giant. She had been waiting for this moment ever since the Moroccan side qualified for the 32-team tournament, the FIFA points out. 

“I was really excited because I wanted to see my team play. It’s my my first time ever going to a stadium. And, I would like to support my team with all my might!” she said. 

“Seeing the Club World Cup here in real life is just a great opportunity with the greatest teams in the world, in my personal opinion.” she added. 

Fans lie at the heart of the success of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with total attendance exceeding one million spectators during the match between Juventus FC and Wydad AC at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

The largest single-match attendance (80,619 spectators) was reached on June 15 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles, for Paris Saint-Germain v. Atlético de Madrid.