Morocco’s wish to host the World Cup: Will FIFA eventually agree?

On Mar 10, 2023

In a possible joint candidacy with Spain and Portugal, Morocco may have a chance to host the 2030 World Cup finals. The request to take this into account follows the interrogation of Ukrainian officials and suspicions of corruption inside the country’s football organization.

Due to FIFA’s initial disinterest in joint bids from various continents, the Spanish and Portuguese federations initially backed away from having Morocco in the candidacy. The current absence of opposition to the joint Saudi-Egyptian-Greek file, however, has caused Spain and Portugal to reevaluate their choice and work toward adding Morocco to the list of nominees before the year 2024, which is the deadline for submitting nominations.

The Spanish and Portuguese federations are reportedly thinking about enlisting Morocco in the bid, but only if they can entirely cut ties with Ukraine, according to Spanish media sources. They refuse to address the claims of corruption and charge Ukraine with embezzling money intended for stadium building, with the Ukrainian federation president potentially facing up to 12 years in prison.

Morocco has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to win the privilege to host the World Cup. King Mohammed VI gave the nation the order to submit their application for the 2030 event in 2018. Rashid Talbi Alami, the former Minister of Youth and Sports, reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to moral and orderly competition in its candidacy file despite criticism from other Arab nations.

Together with Britain, the countries of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay have also declared their interest in hosting the 2030 World Cup. The Spanish and Portuguese federations were first reluctant to include Morocco in their joint proposal because FIFA did not seem to be interested in such bids, but they have since changed their minds.

Although no official announcements have been made, it is still unclear whether Morocco’s sincere and orderly approach can convince FIFA to choose it as the host nation for the 2030 World Cup.