By Victor Kanayo
Ahead of the 2030 World Cup, Morocco is planning to build the largest stadium ever in the world.
According to reports from the North African nation, the planned gigantic project is a milestone for the upcoming mundial which will herald 100 years of the tournament’s existence.
Morocco is co-hosting the World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
As it stands, preparatory work has already begun to build the stadium on a 100-hectare site after funding for the project was approved last October.
Morocco World News website reports the budget for the new stadium project amounts to 5 billion Moroccan dirhams (460 million euros).
A British firm, Populous has reportedly won the bid for the design of the what is called Morocco’s Grand Casablanca Stadium. It is being designed to hold 115,000 spectators in its bowel.
According to Populous in its website, the stadium derives its identity from the culture of the “season” in Morocco, as its structure is located under a large tent roof that appears as an exciting intervention in the forest landscape, noting that the stadium site extends over an area of 100 hectares in the city of Mansouria in the province of Benslimane (38 km north of Casablanca).
The British company explained that the stadium will be compatible with the FIFA standard. The company’s president, Francois Clément, said that the expected pace of construction “indicates the commitment of all parties concerned to deliver this project on time and within budget, and will constitute a rich asset for the Kingdom of Morocco, as well as raise it to the highest global platform for the development of sports infrastructure.”
The proposed stadium will compete with the Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou stadiums in Spain.
