FIFA is expected to decide the venue for the 2030 World Cup final in 2028, a timeline that keeps Morocco’s push to host the showpiece at the Hassan II Stadium alive.

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo reported that sources familiar with the process said FIFA does not plan to announce the final venue before 2028.

The reported timeline mirrors the previous World Cup cycle. FIFA waited until February 2024 to confirm New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium as the venue for the 2026 final.

That means the contest between Morocco and Spain remains open, despite increasingly confident statements from both countries over their preferred venues.

Morocco has made no secret of its ambition to bring the 2030 World Cup final to Benslimane, near Casablanca, where the Hassan II Stadium is under construction.

The stadium is expected to have a capacity of about 115,000. When completed, it would be one of the largest football stadiums in the world.

The project has become the centrepiece of Morocco’s bid to host the tournament’s closing match.

Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, has repeatedly backed the ambition.

•Basketball players train during the Legacy Summer Camp, organised by SEED Project alumnus Pape Latyr Gnigu, in Dakar, Senegal, September 30, 2026. REUTERS/Misper Apawu.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has closed its only elite training academy in Africa.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the academy , established less than a decade ago was launched in Senegal to prepare promising young African players ‌for professional leagues in the US and elsewhere.

The decision to close NBA Academy Africa, the league’s first such facility in Africa, was a blow to students and young players across the continent, two former employees said.

Michel Chikwanine, who had been the academy’s performance and lifestyle adviser, said the news discouraged African players just beginning to build confidence.

“From the moment we told them, their confidence waned, their confidence dropped,” he said.

Michael Abbott, former head of academic planning at the academy, said it showed a lack of commitment to the students.

“They ⁠weren’t invested in them as kids as much as they were invested in the business model,” he said.

In response to questions from Reuters, the NBA said the decision reflected a shift in global basketball development strategy.

It has previously closed academies in Mexico and Australia. All training will be run out of a new global academy to open soon in the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi, it said.

In its statement, the NBA added that it is continuing to invest in African talent through other programs and that closing the academy does not signal a diminished commitment to the continent.

Lionel Messi has been confirmed as the new owner of Spanish football club CD Eldense, marking the Argentine superstar’s second club ownership venture in Spain.Eldense announced the ownership change in an official statement on X on Thursday confirming that Messi has completed the acquisition of the club and will now oversee its next phase.

Eldense announced the ownership change in an official statement on X on Thursday confirming that Messi has completed the acquisition of the club and will now oversee its next phase.

The move adds Eldense to Messi’s growing football investment portfolio.

The former Barcelona and Argentina captain previously became an owner of UE Cornellà, making Eldense his second Spanish club.

Messi’s entry into Eldense ownership is expected to bring increased international attention to the club as it looks to strengthen its sporting and commercial ambitions.