After months of speculations, Morocco has officially submitted the Kingdom’s bid to host the 2026 Fifa World Cup. Moulay Hafid Elalamy, president of a committee set up to push the country’s bid, announced on Friday that they were ‘confident’ of their chances.
“We have submitted Morocco’s bid. We believe in our chances and believe that it is going to be a successful World Cup, which will respect the environment, together with a strong heritage for Morocco and Africa,” he said.
This is the fifth time the North African nation is bidding to host the Mundial.
Elalamy said Morocco’s candidature comes in the name of the entire African continent and for ‘Africans’.
North American trio United States, Canada and Mexico have also submitted a joint bid that will compete with that from Morocco.
The 2026 Fifa World Cup will have 48 participants as opposed to the former 36-team format. The hosts will be announced on June 13 in Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup.