A consortium led by Moroccan architect Tarik Oualalou has been chosen to design the $500m Casablanca Grand football stadium, website Medias24 reports.

It was chosen from a longlist of 12 preselected by Moroccan authorities.

The team includes US firms Populous and M-E Engineers, Maffeis Engineering of Italy and UK consultant Rider Levett Bucknall.

Second place in the competition was taken by a team that included Swiss designer Herzog & de Meuron, designer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic stadium, and British consulting engineer Mott MacDonald

The ground will be located on 100ha in Benslimane, 38km east of the city.

It will be home to the Moroccan national football team when complete in 2028. The seating capacity will be 115,000, making it the biggest stadium in Africa and possibly the largest in the world.

As well as the ground itself, the project will include the construction of a public assembly hall, dressing rooms, medical services, media centres, four training pitches and secure and general parking lots.

Morocco is planning to spend almost $2bn on new and refurbished stadiums in preparation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup, which it will host with Spain and Portugal (see further reading).