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Spain and Portugal declared their joint candidacy in 2021, before adding Ukraine to their bid last October. However, war-torn Ukraine is likely to be dropped from the bid now that Morocco has joined.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has announced that his country had joined the bid by Spain and Portugal to host the centenary World Cup in 2030.
The bid, which is unprecedented in football history, will bring together Africa and Europe, the northern and southern Mediterranean, and the African, Arab, and Euro-Mediterranean worlds with such a bid seen as a potential vote winner.
Morocco’s intentions were made public in a message delivered by Morocco's Sports Minister Chakib Benmoussa from King Mohammed VI as he was recognised with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President’s Award of Excellence in Kigali, Rwanda on Tuesday.
Spain and Portugal declared their joint candidacy in 2021, before adding Ukraine to their bid last October. However, war-torn Ukraine is likely to be dropped from the bid now that Morocco has joined.
The move was sanctioned by Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the Portuguese Football Association said at the time the bid “aims to contribute through the power of football to the recovery of a country undergoing reconstruction”.
However, the war against Russia is still ongoing, with a new wave of missile strikes causing devastation across the country. The likelihood of Ukraine recovering to host World Cup group-stage matches in seven years’ time feels increasingly slim.
There is also uncertainty at the top of the Ukrainian FA, after president Andriy Pavelko was arrested in November over fraud and money-laundering allegations.
There has also been concern over the distance between Spain, Portugal and Ukraine. Up to 1000 miles are between Ukraine and Spain while Portugal is even further away from Ukraine.
The proximity between Spain and Morocco makes the partnership more practical as only eight miles separates the two countries that are separated by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Morocco declared it would bid for the 2030 World Cup in July 2018, after five previous unsuccessful attempts to host the tournament in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026. If successful in 2030, it would be the first country to host World Cup matches in North Africa.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe welcomed Morocco’s decision to join the Spain-Portugal 2030 FIFA World Cup bid but with Egypt (Greece-Saudi Arabia) also interested Motsepe says the CAF Executive Committee will sit and come up with a decision soon.
A joint South American proposal involving Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile is also expected to rival Morocco’s bid. Uruguay hosted the first-ever World Cup in 1930.
The 2030 hosts will be selected at the 74th FIFA congress in 2024. The 2026 finals, featuring 48 teams instead of the 32 in Qatar, will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
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