Morocco 2026 Bid CEO Hicham El Amrani "presented his vision" for a World Cup that for "so long remained shrouded in mystery," according to Martha Kelner of the London GUARDIAN. The Moroccan bid is "based on a concept of Africa meets Europe," with 12 host cities and a stadium construction budget of $3B. The plan is to build nine stadiums, of which six are modular, "allowing their capacity to be reduced after the tournament." Extensive renovations will be made to five existing stadiums. El Amrani and his team "hope they can persuade" the 207 remaining FIFA voting-member federations that Morocco, which has bid for the World Cup four times before, "is now capable of hosting the biggest sporting event on the African continent." It is understood the FIFA hierarchy -- including President Gianni Infantino -- "would prefer" the United bid, with its "ready-made stadiums, infrastructure and accommodation provisions." That is not to mention a guaranteed $300M bonus payment due to the governing body if the tournament is held in the U.S. It is also understood that three FIFA Council members -- Sunil Gulati from the U.S., CONCACAF VP Victor Montagliani and Sandra Fruean of American Samoa -- have "remained in meetings where they should have excused themselves" (GUARDIAN, 5/9). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL's Andrew Warshaw reported the new voting process to select the 2026 World Cup host has led to "more claims of unfair tactics by underdogs Morocco," which has requested FIFA exclude four U.S.-governed territories from the ballot in June. Unlike in the past when host nations were decided by FIFA’s now defunct exec committee, "for the first time FIFA’s member federations will decide the winner on a one-member, one-vote basis, with majority support needed to land the biggest prize in world football." Neither Morocco nor the joint bidders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico are allowed to vote but Morocco believes that "should also extend to American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands because of a conflict of interest." FIFA has not responded to the Moroccan request to prevent the four aforementioned federations from voting (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 5/10).
WORKING TOGETHER: In London, David Conn reported Russian and U.K. police are "cooperating well" on plans to protect supporters traveling to the World Cup, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said, "despite the collapse in relations between the two countries" following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in March. Minister of State for Int'l Development Harriett Baldwin told the foreign affairs select committee’s inquiry into government preparations for the World Cup that police and counter-terrorism are two operational areas in which cooperation with Russia is continuing at a "strong level." Responding to concerns from MPs about hooliganism in Russia, "particularly about potential racism, and prejudice against LGBT supporters," Baldwin acknowledged the risks and said that the government is "relying on security assurances" given by the Russian authorities to FIFA (GUARDIAN, 5/9).
NEGATIVE PUBLICITY: Warshaw also reported FIFA scrapped its daily media briefings at next month's World Cup, with a "need-to-know policy installed instead." It was a move that seems likely to be "regarded in some circles as a protectionist measure to avoid negative publicity." FIFA Head of Media Hans Hultman confirmed the new strategy at the AIPS Congress in Brussels, saying that FIFA will "simply deal with media enquiries on a normal regular daily basis" and that specific briefings would only be organized in Moscow when necessary (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 5/10).
NO BOOZE BAN: THE MOSCOW TIMES reported Russia's beer producers have reportedly "sent letters to local and federal officials urging them not to restrict the sale of alcohol" during the 2018 World Cup. Regional authorities are "pushing to restrict the sale and consumption of beer" during the tournament. In response, breweries are "warning officials that if restrictions are put in place, football fans will be in danger of being forced to purchase illegal, hard liquor." Beer producers also estimate that restrictions will cost Moscow alone up to 2B rubles ($31M) in unpaid taxes (THE MOSCOW TIMES, 5/9).
