Morocco announced it will bid to host the 2026 World Cup, "positioning itself as a last-minute challenger" to the joint bid from the U.S., Mexico and Canada, according to Bryan Graham of the London GUARDIAN. The Moroccan Football Federation (FMRF) unveiled the bid on Friday with a "brief two-sentence statement, confirming it had submitted a formal application" to the relevant FIFA committees. The announcement came hours before FIFA's deadline for countries to "confirm their intention to bid," and denies the North American bid an "unopposed victory" at the eleventh hour. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada bid remains the "overwhelming favorite" to win hosting rights for the 2026 World Cup. Under the proposal, the U.S. will host 60 games -- including every match from the quarterfinals onward -- with Mexico and Canada splitting the remaining 20 fixtures equally (GUARDIAN, 8/11). In N.Y., Andrew Das reported the North American bid was "helped by FIFA's decision to clear the field of some of its biggest potential rivals." Earlier this year, FIFA confirmed that it would "bar the confederations in Europe and Asia from bidding" for '26, locking out possible rivals like England and China, because Europe will host the '18 tournament in Russia and Asia the '22 event in Qatar. Morocco, a nation whose population of 33 million is one-tenth the size of the U.S., bid for the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, losing out each time "in part because its rivals were deemed better equipped to pull off the event." Hosting an expanded tournament would "require billions of dollars of investment, and as a result its decision to enter the race came as a mild surprise" to some in FIFA. U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said, "We've always been prepared for the fact that other countries could also decide to bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Competition is good, and overall it shows the value and importance of the World Cup" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/11). REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported Gulati said that the North American bid "would provide further information next week" about which cities were interested in hosting games. He said, "We'll continue to put together a bid that will meet and exceed the final regulations and specifications required by FIFA." FIFA said in a statement that the two candidates "would have until March to submit detailed bidding documents." The bids will then be evaluated and a report submitted to the FIFA Council (REUTERS, 8/11).
LONG ROAD AHEAD: In Abu Dhabi, Ian Hawkey reported Morocco "has its own questions to answer about its viability as a host." In '15, the country was scheduled to host the Africa Cup of Nations but withdrew "citing concerns about the Ebola virus," which was then endangering lives in West Africa. The continent "took a dim view of Morocco's reneging on the project, although bridges have been mended since" and Morocco has offered itself as an "alternative, short-notice host" for the 2019 Nations Cup should Cameroon struggle. Morocco "can undertake that because it has the infrastructure and the stadiums." There are already six arenas, in Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Fes, Marrakesh and Agadir, with capacities of 45,000 or more to comply with FIFA World Cup requirements. For an 80-match World Cup, "billions more would need to be spent on new and redeveloped stadia in addition" (THE NATIONAL, 8/13).
