2030 World Cup: two architectural firms chosen to construct the Grand Stade de Casablanca in Morocco

Morocco's National Agency for Public Facilities (ANEP) has awarded the construction project for the 115,000-seat Grand Stade de Casablanca (Morocco) to the French-Moroccan architectural firm Oualalou + Choi and the English firm Populous, on 20/03/2024.

The two firms' project, selected following an international competition, is expected to host matches in the 2030 World Cup, for which Morocco, Portugal and Spain are the only remaining joint candidates. The stadium would be "the largest in world football" and would be home to Wydad Athletic Club and Raja Club Athletic, Casablanca's two professional clubs.

"Preparation for groundworks to start is underway on a 100-hectare site in the town of El Mansouria, in the province of Benslimane, 38 km north of Casablanca, after public financing was approved in October 2023. Oualalou + Choi and Populous' winning scheme draws inspiration from the traditional social gathering of Morocco known as a 'moussem', with the stadium structure set under a grand, tented roof that emerges as a dramatic intervention in the forested landscape," said the…