For the 2030 World Cup, Morocco wants to build a stadium, north of Casablanca, with a capacity of 115,000 seats. This will make it the largest stadium in the world ahead of whoever currently occupies the throne. This is the “May First” stadium located in Pyongyang in North Korea with its 114,000 seats. It is used less for football matches than for regime parades which, moreover, claims that it can accommodate 150,000 people.
This figure, however, is not verifiable. The second largest stadium on the planet, intended for cricket, is in India and the largest in Europe remains the Camp Nou in Barcelona which is close to 100,000 seats. In history, the largest remains the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil which, before its renovation for the 2014 World Cup, could accommodate 220,000 spectators. It is now limited to 72,000 places.
The Moroccan stadium will be built in Benslimane, some 40km from Casablanca. Work should begin in 2025 with completion announced in 2028 and a cost of 500 million euros. The project is in the hands of a consortium of architects bringing together “Populous and Oualalou & Choi”.
The stadium will occupy a surface area estimated at 100 hectares. The 2030 World Cup will be played on three continents: in Europe (Spain, Portugal), in Africa (Morocco) and in South America. To celebrate the centenary of the tournament and the first edition in Uruguay, three matches will be played in Montevideo (Uruguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Asuncion (Paraguay).
