Infantino Reportedly Offered 2030 World Cup Final Hosting Rights in Exchange for Morocco’s Support

Beijing time August 6, according to British media reports, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is currently facing a difficult situation, is trying hard to retain his position of power. He proposed to the Moroccan Football Federation that if Morocco supported him, he would allow Morocco to host the 2030 World Cup final.

Infantino's re-election through 2031 had originally appeared to be certain, but his proposed World Cup share sale plan has drawn significant criticism, and calls for him to resign have grown.

The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by six countries across three continents, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco staging most of the matches. During Infantino's ten years leading FIFA, Morocco has been one of his major supporters and subsequently secured the right to co-host the World Cup. Morocco hopes to stage the World Cup final at the newly planned Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca, which is expected to have a capacity of 115,000 and would become the largest football stadium in the world once completed.

According to The Times, Infantino promised Morocco that if it withstood strong outside criticism and publicly supported him, Morocco would host the World Cup final instead of Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Former Real Madrid and Barcelona star Luis Figo became the latest high-profile football figure to publicly criticize Infantino, describing his actions as “the most despicable, hypocritical and selfish behavior” he had ever seen. He added: “Believe me, in all my years in the game, I have seen plenty of villains. Infantino has tarnished the position of FIFA president that he once promised to improve. He lied, deceived and tried to use the sport he was supposed to serve for personal gain. It is too late to restore his dignity, but it is still possible to save football. He should leave. Now.”

Previously, legendary former Arsenal manager and current FIFA head of global football development Arsene Wenger had distanced himself from the failed plan to sell World Cup shares.

Wenger said: “At FIFA, I serve as global head of football development. My team and I are responsible for overseeing match data analysis, the FIFA online training center, youth education development through 60 academies in 60 countries and regions (located where they are most needed), and youth competitions around the world. In addition, I am also a technical adviser to the International Football Association Board (IFAB). I was not involved in this strategic plan and initially learned about the project through media reports. The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond doubt, because I firmly believe that an independent FIFA can serve our football with commitment, transparency and integrity.”