The Madrid councilor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, maintains that Casablanca has "more options" than the Spanish capital to host the final of the 2030 World Cup, considering that "if Pedro Sánchez has to choose between Madrid and Morocco, he will choose Morocco and someday it will be found out why."
From Casa de Campo, the mayor has linked this situation to the weight that, in his opinion, the Maghreb country has acquired on the international football stage. "It's obvious. Where is the FIFA Executive Committee held? Where will the elections for FIFA be held? Where is Gianni Infantino's reelection presented? In Morocco, if I'm not mistaken," he pointed out, highlighting the relevance that Morocco is gaining before the governing bodies of football.
Martínez-Almeida added that all of this "demonstrates that, apart from building a stadium for 120,000 people, apart from the fact that internationally Morocco has much more influence than Spain at this moment," the neighboring country "is taking institutional action aimed at having the final." According to the mayor, this diplomatic and sports strategy would be tipping the balance towards Casablanca.
In this context, he recalled that "the Minister of Sports of Morocco said a week ago that the final was going to be in Casablanca, which is not that you have to have privileged information, it's that you have to see what is happening." He then questioned the involvement of the central government: "Do you know of any action by the Government of Spain aimed at having the final of the 2030 World Cup here, in Spain? I know of those from Morocco," he indicated, reproaching the absence of similar gestures from the Spanish authorities.
Martínez-Almeida insisted that he has not perceived explicit support from the Government for the Madrid candidacy to host the decisive match. "Have you heard any defense of Madrid's candidacy for the final, as we have heard the defense from the Moroccan authorities? None, none. You just have to see what is happening and the conclusion of all this is that we already know that if Sánchez has to choose between Madrid and Morocco, he will choose Morocco, it's that simple," he emphasized, stressing that the lack of support is, in his opinion, evident.
The mayor has equated this scenario with previous decisions of Spanish foreign policy. He believes it is the same situation as when Sánchez "had to choose between the Sahara and Morocco," which "he chose Morocco." "Now, if he has to choose between Madrid and Morocco, then he will choose Morocco. And someday we will find out why," he concluded, maintaining his criticisms of the president of the Government for his supposed preference for Moroccan interests over those of Madrid.