Mourinho Enters 2030 World Cup Final Stadium Debate in Madrid

José Mourinho has entered the debate over the venue for the 2030 World Cup final, backing Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu while acknowledging that his personal preference would be to see the match played in Lisbon. The Real Madrid coach gave his view at a press conference before his team’s La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano, as the tournament’s three co-hosts continue to compete for the decisive fixture.

Mourinho separated his preferred destination from his assessment of the strongest symbolic venue. He said he would prefer Lisbon and apologised for expressing that opinion, but added that the final should be played at a legendary and historic stadium that had hosted some of the best players in football history. In that context, he identified the Santiago Bernabéu as the home of the most important club in the history of the sport.

The Portuguese coach also rejected the idea that his position was linked to his current job. He said he was not expressing that view simply because he is now Real Madrid’s manager and indicated that he would have made the same argument if he were coaching Benfica. His comments therefore add a prominent football voice to a dispute that has so far involved Moroccan and Spanish sporting officials, political figures and FIFA.

The official position remains that no decision has been made. FIFA reiterated that the choice of stadium for the final would be made at the appropriate time. That statement followed comments from Fouzi Lekjaa, president of Morocco’s football federation and a member of FIFA’s council, who spoke in firm terms about the final being held at the Hassan II Stadium in Benslimane, near Casablanca.

Lekjaa presented Benslimane as Morocco’s intended destination for the tournament’s closing match, saying the province would host the final regardless of whether some people approved. The comments were made during a political meeting in Bouznika in the context of an election campaign. They were not treated as a formal confirmation by FIFA, which maintained that the venue-selection process was still open.

Morocco’s proposal is centred on the Hassan II Stadium, a major project under construction in Benslimane with an expected capacity of about 115,000 spectators. Its scale would make it one of the largest football stadiums in the world and the most prominent Moroccan option for the final. Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch has said the site was selected by royal decision and that state resources and public revenues are financing the project. He also warned against presenting a final in Morocco as a settled promise before consultations with Spain and Portugal.

Spain continues to put forward the Santiago Bernabéu, which has undergone extensive modernisation in recent years and remains one of the country’s leading venues for major matches. Rafael Louzán, president of the Spanish Football Federation, has rejected any suggestion that Spain will withdraw from the contest. He said Spain is bound by formal agreements involving the three organising countries, the Spanish government and the relevant football authorities, and that it possesses the technical and organisational capacity to compete for the final.

Louzán also argued that statements about Benslimane should not be treated as decisive within the official process. His position reflects the central complication in the joint bid: Morocco, Spain and Portugal are partners in the 2030 World Cup, but the final represents the tournament’s most prestigious single fixture. The disagreement has exposed a difference between public declarations about the venue and the formal process controlled by FIFA.

The 2030 World Cup will be staged mainly across Morocco, Spain and Portugal. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host the opening three matches as part of the centenary celebrations for the first World Cup. The current tournament-hosting plan includes nine temporary sites in Spain, six in Morocco and three in Portugal, while further FIFA meetings and scheduled visits are expected to clarify the organisation of the competition.

For now, the Hassan II Stadium and the Santiago Bernabéu remain the clearest contenders in the final-venue debate, while Lisbon has Mourinho’s personal preference but is not presented as the leading option in the current dispute. FIFA has not set out a final stadium decision, leaving the competing claims from Morocco and Spain without official confirmation. The next stage will depend on FIFA’s review of the joint hosting arrangements and the formal selection of venues.