Inside the world’s biggest football stadium: Architects working on the new Old Trafford reveal plans for 115,000-capacity venue in Morocco in bid to host 2030 World Cup final

Featuring a vast tented roof rising above the desert – and two ends holding close to 30,000 – this is how the world’s biggest football stadium will look.

The architects who drew up plans for a new Old Trafford for Manchester United have been tasked with creating a staggering, 115,000-capcity stadium fit to host the 2030 World Cup final.

And dramatic images, shared with Mail Sport, show exactly how Morocco’s Grand Stade Hassan II will dominate the landscape when a huge project becomes a reality.

The venue, based outside Casablanca, draws inspiration from the country’s traditional social gatherings, known as a ‘moussem’. The roof will be made from a unique aluminium lattice, while each end of the huge stadium will hold 29,500 fans over three steep tiers. Five levels of hospitality will welcome 12,000 corporate customers, along with a royal box.

The stadium has been designed by Populous, who were brought in by the Glazers to carry out a feasibility study on a new or refurbished Old Trafford for Manchester United. They worked in conjunction with Paris-based architects Oualalou + Choi.

The stadium, designed by Populous, will hold 115,000 and may host the 2030 World Cup final 

The roof of the vast stadium in the Moroccan city will be made from a unique aluminum lattice

The venue, based outside Casablanca, draws inspiration from the country’s traditional social gatherings

Morocco is hosting the World Cup in 2030 along with Spain and Portugal

The venue will also feature 32 stairways to a number of gardens on raised platforms, 28 metres above the ground. 

Morocco is hosting the World Cup along with Spain and Portugal and officials hope the stadium will stage the final. It will also serve as the home of two local clubs.

Work is due to start on a 100-hectare site to the north of Casablanca, in the near future after public financing was approved last year. 

Populous may well be asked to create a new home for United should the club find sufficient funding although, as Mail Sport revealed, the job could be given to award-winning Mancunian architect Sir Norman Foster.

Christopher Lee, Managing Director at Populous, said: ‘The Grand Stade Hassan II will be a truly iconic, landmark venue for Morocco and for football itself, that will become one of the great stadia of the world.’

Tarik Oualalou, Design Principal and founding partner at Oualalou + Choi and Lead Architect for the project, added: ‘The Grand Stade Hassan II is deeply rooted in Moroccan culture, with its traditions and contemporary expressions. 

‘It is rooted in ancient and primordial figures: the Moussem, the tent, and the garden, as well as the topography and landscapes of Morocco. It’s a generous space, open to the world and respectful to the Nature it protects. The Grand Stade Hassan II de Casablanca is the embodiment of the great tradition of Moroccan hospitality.’