World Cup
Morocco names six cites and stadiums for 2030 World Cup
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
Barely 24 hours after being announced as a co-host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Morocco has already named six stadiums for use at the landmark edition that marks 100 years since the World Cup began.
President of the Royal Morocco Football Federation (FRMF) Faouzi Lakjaa named the stadiums spread across Casablanca, Tangier, Rabat, Fez, Marrakech and Agadir.
The prompt naming is apparently to illustrate the preparedness of the kingdom, even with one edition of the World Cup still ahead.
Most of the stadiums are time honoured and have been kept in good condition by the state run company, Société nationale de réalisation et de gestion des stades (SONARGES) which in English translates to National stadium construction and management company.
In Casablanca, the stadium to the used is Stade Mohammed V. It is a multi-purpose arena and the oldest stadium in Morocco. It is the home ground for local rivals, Wydad and Raja Casablanca.
In 1997, the stadium set a record of attendance of 110,000 during the Casablanca derby and a match between the Moroccan national team against Ghana. . The same record attendance was repeated during Morocco’s match against Argentina in 2004.
Tangier boast of Ibn Batouta Stadium, one of those used at the 2022 Club World Cup earlier this year. Nigeria also played against Liberia at the arena in one of the qualifying duels for the 2022 World Cup. It is named after a Moroccan scholar and explorer.
Another Centennial World Cup city is Marrakech. The Stade de Marrakech
has a unique architectural design. Situated some 11 km from the city centre. It is the first stadium in the world to be both rectangular and also incorporate an elliptical running track.
Designed by Italian firm, Gregotti Associati International, it is adorned in brick red colour outwardly to have an harmony with the ancient city that is noted for its trademark of red walls. Generally, Marrakech is nicknamed “Red City” as most buildings are constructed in red sandstone .
The stadium outwardly cut the picture of an ancient fort and having four towers at the corners of the unique arena.
Each tower carries a set of halogen lamps that illuminate the natural lush green grass and the main bowl. This may not be a coincidence. As the director of the stadium, Rachid Naifi explained, the shape refers to fortifications on one hand and to local architecture in general.
Another 2030 host city is Fez. It is the second largest city in Morocco and the northern inland part of the country has the Fez Stadium.
It is in this arena that a goal-scorer that qualified an African team into the semi-final of the World Cup is honoured.
Youssel En-Nesyri who leapt an incredible height of 2.78 metres to score Morocco’s winner against Portugal at the last World Cup has a huge photograph that captured the goal episode, adorning the Fez Stadium.
The stadium’s seats are in green and red depicting the national colours of Morocco.
En-Nesyri’s incredible jump cum goal set an eye-catching record as it reportedly outperformed Ronaldo’s famous 2.56-metre jump during a game with his former club Juventus in the 2019-2020 football season.
Both El-Nesyri and Ronaldo are of the same height. El-Nesyri is a native of the city of Fez. His astounding jump above Portugal’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa and defender, Ruben Dias culminating in a header into the net was described as highest jump in football goal scoring episodes.
His native Fez in Morocco has honoured him. According to Anass Erghnouni, the director of the Fez stadium, El-Nesyri started his football career as a youth player at Maghreb Association Sportve de Fes (MAS Fes) before moving to Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat.
More significant is perhaps the life-sized photograph that King Mohammed VI took with the Atlas Lions upon return from Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The use of photographs that capture Morocco’s passion for football may not be a surprise. Erghnouni, the director of the stadium and top official at Morocco’s stadium management company, SONARGES explained that Fez is one of the biggest cultural centres of Morocco and habouring over 12 centuries of history.
The simplicity of the stadium’s design is to showcase the city’s old century of culture, explained Erghnouni. The pitch of the stadium has lush green natural grass.
The resident clubs at the 45,000 capacity stadium are Maghreb Association Sportive de Fès (MAS Fes) and Wydad Athletic de Fès.
Though in existence since1997, it was officially commissioned 10 years later.
It habours four locker rooms for football teams, making it very good for double-header matches for which Africa Cup of Nations’ group games adopted.
It means that while a game is on, the two other teams who are to take on the pitch later have their own locker rooms.
Four huge slanting flood light pillars each carry 50 halogen lamps to ensure brilliant spectacle both for spectators and television viewers.
Agadir is another World Cup designated city. It was at this city that Nigeria’s Super Eagles had their biggest win when they beat Sao Tome & Principe 10-0 last year in one of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
The Grand Stade d’Agadir has a uniqueness as a place where the Atlas Mountains blend with sports facilities.
Occasionally, structural designers attempt a blend of nature with constructions. This is very apparent in the design of Grand Stade d’Agadir.
The stadium is lying at the foot of the Atlas Mountain from where the Morocco national team derived their nickname, Atlas Lions.
Hitcham Allouli, the stadium’s director told Sports Village Square that the 45,480 capacity Grand Stade Adrar Agadir was designed to form part of Morocco’s bid for the 2010 World Cup.
Early construction works kicked off in 2003, but works progressed slowly and stalled when South Africa got awarded the World Cup instead of Morocco.
Construction works resumed in 2007 and was completed in October 2013 and hosted some matches of that year’s edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Located on the eastern edge of the Agadir at the foot of the Atlas mountain range, the stadium is about five kilometres from Agadir’s centre and beachfront.
The arena’s director said that the stadium is estimated to have been constructed at cost of one million euro.
The design was by a Moroccan architect, Sad Benkirane in conjunction with a foreign firm, Gregotti Associati International.
Outwardly, the stadium in colour and in shape, is designed to have a perfect harmony with the surrounding hills as outside walls have sloped elevations.
Hitcham Allouli informed that the arena, with natural grass, has a media tribune that can hold 288 journalists as well as 12 commentary boxes.
The three-tiered grand stand has three VVIP zones and each had capacity for 250 guests. This is in addition to 12 lounges that can host 300 guests.
Rabat, the green city and seat of government has the popular Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Canada Soccer cheekily courted Italy’s crestfallen supporters on Saturday, urging them to swap their Azzurri blue strips for maple leaf red after the four-time champions suffered another World Cup failure.
“Dear Italian soccer fans, don’t wait four more years. Swap your jersey for Canada,” the sports governing body posted on X on Friday, directing fans to gather outside Cafe Diplomatico, a popular restaurant in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood.
The light-hearted appeal followed Italy’s third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup after a playoff defeat by Bosnia on Tuesday, a setback that led to the resignations of coach Gennaro Gattuso and federation president Gabriele Gravina.
Canada, who will co-host the World Cup alongside Mexico and the United States, seized the moment to call for fans to support their country instead.
Local media reported hundreds of supporters queued for the Italy-for-Canada jersey exchange, though the offer proved more symbolic than transactional. Canada Soccer handed out 2026 shirts and posters to fans — and did so without collecting a single Italian jersey in return.
-Reuters
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World Cup
Nigeria and Other Top-Ranked Teams Missing At 2026 World Cup Raise Questions Over Global Football Balance
By Kunle Solaja.
Despite the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams, several high-profile nations—including some ranked within the top 30 globally—will not feature at the 2026 finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada, underlining the increasingly unforgiving nature of modern qualification.
The most striking absence is the four-time world champions Italy national football team, who failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup after losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoffs.
Once a permanent fixture at the global showpiece, Italy’s continued absence has triggered widespread criticism at home, with many describing the situation as a national sporting crisis.
Europe’s Big Casualties
Italy are not alone among Europe’s elite in missing out. Countries such as Denmark’s national football team, Poland’s national football team and Serbia’s national football team, all of whom have consistently hovered around the top tiers of FIFA rankings in recent years, also failed to make the cut.
Poland’s elimination is particularly significant, as it likely marks the end of World Cup ambitions for veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, while Denmark’s absence comes after years of steady progress on the international stage.
Serbia, boasting a generation of technically gifted players, were also among those eliminated during the qualification process.
African Heavyweights Left Out
Africa will send a record number of teams to the expanded tournament, yet notable absentees remain.
Three-time African champions Nigeria national football team and five-time AFCON winners Cameroon national football team both failed to qualify after disappointing campaigns.
Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions are among Africa’s big names missing at the World Cup.
Nigeria’s absence is particularly glaring given the quality of players such as Victor Osimhen, while Cameroon fell short despite a squad featuring several Europe-based stars.
South American Decline
In South America, the Chile national football team continue their dramatic fall from grace. Once Copa América champions, Chile finished bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifying table, extending their World Cup absence to three editions.
Emerging Pattern: Expansion Without Guarantees
The absence of these established football nations highlights a key reality: even with 48 slots, World Cup qualification remains fiercely competitive.
While debutants such as Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan have secured historic places at the finals, traditional powers have faltered under pressure.
Analysts note that this shift reflects a broader trend in global football—greater parity, improved development structures in smaller nations, and declining dominance of traditional heavyweights.
A World Cup Without Familiar Faces
The 2026 tournament will therefore present a unique landscape—one where emerging nations share the stage while several established powers watch from home.
For fans, it promises freshness and unpredictability. For the absent giants, however, it serves as a stark reminder that reputation alone is no longer enough to secure a place at football’s biggest event.
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By Kunle Solaja.
A remarkable storyline is emerging ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as no fewer than seven countries have secured returns to the global football showpiece after prolonged absences spanning decades.
Leading the list are Haiti and DR Congo, both of which are back on the World Cup stage after an astonishing 52-year absence. Haiti last featured at the tournament in 1974, the same year DR Congo, then known as Zaire, made their only previous appearance.
European sides Scotland national football team, Norway national football team and Austria national football team are also ending 28-year waits.
Scotland’s last outing came in 1998, while Norway and Austria have similarly endured long spells away from the competition despite periods of promise in European football.
South America will see the return of the Paraguay national football team, who are back after a 16-year hiatus, having last appeared at the 2010 finals in South Africa.
On the African continent, the South Africa national football team will make a long-awaited comeback after 16 years, their previous participation coming when they hosted the tournament in 2010.
The wave of returning nations highlights the expanding opportunities created by the enlarged 48-team format for the 2026 World Cup, which will be staged across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
For many of these countries, qualification marks not just a sporting achievement but a generational milestone, rekindling national pride and offering a new era of players the chance to perform on football’s biggest stage after decades in the wilderness.
With traditional powers and returning underdogs set to collide, the 2026 tournament is already shaping up to be one of the most diverse and unpredictable in World Cup history.
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