Morocco hope to beat USA/Canada/Mexico for 2026 World Cup bid
Doha: Morocco football federation exuded confidence that the country can host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
"A FIFA World Cup in Morocco will deliver commercial success and leave a long-lasting legacy and if we win the honour of hosting then we believe the winners will be football, the young people of our nation, Africa and the world," bid chairman Moulay Hafid Elalamy tweeted after the campaign launch in Casablanca on Tuesday.
“In 100 years since the World Cup started, Africa hosted the competition only once. This cannot go on. If Morocco wins, 80 per cent of the global audience will not have to wake up at 3am to watch a game,” he added.
South Africa became the first African country to stage the competition in 2010.
Morocco will need to win the votes of 104 out of 207 international football associations in a ballot on June 13 to host the tournament, the awarding of which has been plagued by corruption scandals in recent years.
With an expanded 48 teams set to play in 2026 finals, up from 32 now, Morocco would need to build eight new stadiums and upgrade six existing ones to FIFA requirements.
