May 10 – South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan has been forced to diplomatically backtrack over a previous pledge that his federation would be voting for Morocco to stage the 2026 World Cup.
Earlier this week, the South African government intervened to state that the country is actually behind the rival joint bid of the United States, Canada and Mexico. That put SAFA potentially on a collision course with FIFA which forbids government interference in the bid process.
Jordaan now insists no decision has been taken and that it will be up to his executive committee. “We’re going to have an NEC meeting because these things are determined by the NEC not just individuals,” he said. “The vote is on June 13 in Moscow and we will vote according to the mandate that we will get from the NEC.”
SAFA’s vote has traditionally been seen as one of the most influential in the region which is why Morocco cried foul early in their campaign when United 2026 bid officials were allowed to make a presentation to the 14-strong Council of Southern Africa Football Associations.
Since then a Moroccan delegation comprising bid ambassadors El Hadji Diouf and Joseph-Antoine Bell visited SAFA to try to redress the balance.
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