By Andrew Warshaw
August 30 – Morocco, it seems, is stopping at nothing and devising every possible scenario in its bid to finally land the World Cup.
Morocco’s unexpected recent announcement that it will bid for the 2030 tournament despite five previous failures was assumed at the time to be the part of a planned joint effort with north African neighbours Algeria and Tunisia.
But now it would appear that, following the country’s failed attempt to clinch the 2026 finals, the route could instead be a landmark inter-continental bid with historical cultural allies Spain and Portugal, according to Moroccan news outlet Al Yaoum 24.
Citing unidentified sources, Al Yaoum 24 said the three federations have apparently been preparing what would represent the first bid comprised of parties from two separate continents.
Reportedly, the three associations have been working on a draft agreement that will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
After their crushing defeat in the race for 2026 by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Moroccans appear to have got the message that they are unlikely to gain enough support to stage an expanded 48-team finals on their own.
Whoever they get into bed with for 2030 they would in all likelihood be up against a strong joint Argentina-Uruguay-Paraguay bid to host what would be the centenary of the first World Cup, staged by Uruguay in 1930. An all-British bid is also being strongly mooted with China likely to wait until 2034.
The Al Yaoum report suggests Morocco has chosen to form a triumvirate with the two Iberian countries over its North African neighbours because of political tensions between Rabat and Algiers.
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