LONDON: June 2018 is a huge month for Moroccan football. The national team, with group games against Iran, Spain and Portugal, is unlikely to win the 2018 World Cup but the country is in the running for a bigger prize to be handed out in Russia: Hosting rights for the 2026 edition.
On June 13 in Moscow, a day before Russia and Saudi Arabia kick off, there will be a contest between North America and North Africa. FIFA will decide whether the 2026 edition will be won by a joint bid from the US, Canada and Mexico or whether it will go to Morocco
Morocco has four failed past bids under its belt and is seen as more likely to turn that into five than to win a first. With just over four months remaining, there has been little communication coming out of Rabat, even if Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) promised that this will change in the coming weeks.
“We are working hard to submit a superb bid to FIFA in mid-March and we will reveal more details as we move forward,” Lekjaa said.
“We may surprise many people with our strong infrastructure and commercial offering, and we will highlight our wonderful welcome, host cities and stunning locations. It promises to be a truly special bid.”
Morocco upset its home continent by withdrawing as host from the 2015 African Nations Cup, citing concerns over the Ebola virus. Enough bridges seemed to have been built, even if FIFA rules prevent the Confederation of African Football from officially supporting the bid.
The body’s head, President Ahmad Ahmad, however, said last week that he was personally behind it. “May the best bid win — Africa is the best,” said Ahmad.
“I am for Morocco as you know as I have already said it. I won’t be neutral, I can tell you what I want — when others are asked I will let them reply as they wish.”
There have been messages of support from individual African nations such as Nigeria, Tunisia and Ghana. In a change from previous campaigns, Morocco will need to gain a majority of the 211 national football federations that will attend the Moscow Congress, rather than the 24 members of the now-defunct FIFA Executive Committee.
The country, with a population of 34 million, has work to do to catch up with its rival from across the Atlantic where the US and its partners, home to almost 500 million, have already reduced an original list of 41 potential host cities. North America could host the tournament tomorrow, while Morocco would need to seriously invest in meeting FIFA’s venue requirements.
With CONCAFAF expected to back the bid from three of its biggest member associations and South America most likely to be happy to see the World Cup in a similar time zone, Europe and Asia, with over 100 votes between them, will be crucial battlegrounds.
“Asia has yet to decide what it will do and that includes whether we try to bring a block vote or recommend that the different associations go their own way,” said an official at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
While there are questions to be answered from Morocco — the bid does not yet have an official website — about whether it is capable of hosting the first-ever 48-team tournament, there is hope. For one, Europe and its broadcasters may prefer the World Cup being held close to home and in a similar timezone.
The controversial tenure and tough immigration rhetoric of US President Donald Trump could also damage the North American challenge.
“There are concerns over visas for players from certain countries in getting into America and the US is not popular at the moment in most of Asia,” said the AFC official.
Trump’s recent disparaging comments about immigrants from poor countries also did not go down well.
“In Africa there’s solidarity,” Hassan Waberi, the president of the Comoros soccer federation, told The New York Times.
“So we feel insulted and not happy. Of course it’s not good for the Americans.”
After the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, FIFA has taken a dim view of joint-bids. Never before have three countries teamed up, though FIFA president Gianni Infantino has denied that it is a problem.
There is hope then, but Morocco has a lot of work still to do and not just in terms of building stadiums.