Morocco Could Make Spanish Companies Pay for the Battle Over the 2030 World Cup

The issue is taking on a different dimension as Vox and Sumar seek to challenge Morocco’s participation in the 2030 World Cup. In an article published Thursday, August 20, El Español highlights the considerable interests Spanish companies could stand to lose if the political conflict spilled over into the economy.

The Spanish daily takes up information published on August 11 by Assahifa, which says it interviewed Moroccan government sources. They assure that no existing contract with Spanish companies has been modified. But if the escalation continues, “anything is possible,” and Morocco could review its choices and future contracts according to its national interests.

The warning comes as Madrid is specifically seeking to benefit from Moroccan investments linked to 2030. In February 2025, the Spanish government counted more than 350 companies from its country operating in Morocco and presented the World Cup as a major source of opportunities in infrastructure, transport, technology and tourism.

More than €1.3 billion in two major projects

Two cases alone illustrate the sums at stake. CAF won the contract for ONCF intercity trains, with Spanish financing of €754.3 million for the acquisition of 40 trains. Madrid itself emphasizes that this project is intended to improve Morocco’s railway network ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Acciona, together with Green of Africa and Afriquia Gaz, is leading the Casablanca desalination project. The investment amounts to approximately €613 million. Adding these two operations together, more than €1.36 billion worth of projects already directly involve Spanish companies.

And Spain’s exposure goes far beyond that. Spain is Morocco’s leading trading partner: bilateral trade exceeds €22.5 billion per year, and the trade balance shows a surplus of more than €3 billion in Madrid’s favor. Spanish exports to the kingdom increased by nearly 6% in 2024.

On Bladi.net : Morocco Unrest Threatens Spain’s 21 Billion Euro Trade Lifeline

For now, therefore, this is neither an announced sanction nor a decision by the Moroccan government. But the signal is clear: while part of Spain’s political class wants to use the 2030 World Cup to pressure Rabat, Morocco also has a particularly sensitive lever at its disposal for Madrid—the hundreds of Spanish companies that rely on its markets.