Officials announced on Tuesday that Morocco will team up with Spain and Portugal in a three-way bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Ukraine had initially been considered as a potential partner for Spain and Portugal’s 2030 FIFA World Cup bid, but Morocco has stepped in as a result of Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
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OFFICIAL: Morocco announces joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host 2030 FIFA World Cup.
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— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) March 14, 2023
“I would like to announce that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided, together with Spain and Portugal, to present a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup,” King Mohammed VI of Morocco stated this in a letter that was read by Chakib Benmoussa, the nation’s minister of sports, in Kigali, where soccer organization FIFA is hosting its 73rd Congress on Thursday,.
“This joint bid, which is unprecedented in football history, will bring together Africa and Europe, the northern and southern Mediterranean, and the African, Arab and Euro-Mediterranean worlds.
“It will also bring out the best in all of us – in effect a combination of genius, creativity, experience and means.”
In the past, Morocco has made several bids to host the World Cup finals. In the competition to host the 2010 edition, where they lost to South Africa, they came the closest.
When they became the first African team to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament in Qatar last year, where they lost to France, they shocked the entire world. Morocco ultimately came in behind Croatia in the standings.
The 2022 Club World Cup, which was held in the country of Africa last month after being postponed due to the World Cup in Qatar, was also held there.
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One additional joint bid from South American nations Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay for the 2030 finals has been officially confirmed. The former organized the 1930 World Cup finals.
The United States, Mexico, and Canada will co-host the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams competing in 104 matches.
The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, advance to the round of 32 in the new format that FIFA approved on Tuesday.
