It's now official. Portugal has withdrawn from the race to host the 2030 World Cup Final. Portugal's Antonio Laranjo, coordinator of the tripartite bid, announced on Tuesday, March 19, in Lisbon, that «Portugal does not have a stadium with a capacity of at least 80,000 seats, nor will it invest in increasing capacity, effectively removing Portugal from hosting the World Cup final». Spanish media welcomed the withdrawal. «The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) believes that the final could take place at the renovated Santiago Bernabéu (in Madrid), where work is continuing», points out Mundo Deportivo. «Barcelona City Council, with the agreement of FC Barcelona, is reportedly already preparing a full report in support of the bid for the new Camp Nou, currently under construction, to host the final». Morocco is still in the running. To defend its chances, the government has scheduled the construction of a major stadium in Benslimane, with a capacity of 113,000 seats and a budget of almost 5 billion dirhams, over the period 2025-2028.
