Wikipedia

Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid

The Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid was Morocco's unsuccessful bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It competed with the United 2026 bid of Canada, Mexico, and the United States for hosting rights.

2026 FIFA World Cup Bid
Morocco 2026
ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ 2026 (Berber)
2026 المَغْرِبْ (Arabic)
Maroc 2026 (French)
Marruecos 2026 (Spanish)
Tournament details
Host countryMorocco
Teams48 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)14 (in 12 host cities)

Background

edit

The 2026 bid was Morocco's fifth bid to host the FIFA World Cup after four unsuccessful attempts in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 lost out to the United States, France, Germany and South Africa. If successful, it would have been the second African country, after the 2010 tournament in South Africa to host a World Cup.

Bid process

edit
Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup

Bidding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was postponed due to the 2015 FIFA corruption case and the subsequent resignation of Sepp Blatter,[1] then it was restarted following the FIFA Council meeting on 10 May 2016, wherein the bidding process will consist of four phases:[2]

  • May 2016 – May 2017: a new strategy and consultation phase
  • June 2017 – Dec 2017: enhanced phases for bid preparation
  • March 2018 – June 2018: bid evaluation
  • June 2018: final decision

With no rival bid having emerged since April 2017, the CONCACAF member federations of Canada, Mexico and the United States sent a joint request to FIFA to hasten the bid process. Canada, Mexico and the United States wanted FIFA to award the bid outside the traditional bidding process at the June 2018 FIFA Congress in Moscow if the CONCACAF bid meets FIFA requirements.[3][4]

However, the FIFA Council decided on 8 May 2017 that FIFA would have a full bidding procedure. To ensure continental rotation of hosting duties, only the member associations of CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC were invited, as these continental confederations had not hosted the two previous World Cups.[5] A date of 11 August 2017 was set for submission of an intention to bid,[6] and on that day, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced that it would submit a bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[7] In March 2018, the Morocco 2026 bid committee stated their plan to spend $16 billion on preparing for the tournament, including building new transportation infrastructure, 21 new hospitals, a large number of new hotels and leisure facilities and building and/or renovating new stadiums.[8]

FIFA Football tournament hosting experiences

edit

Morocco have previously hosted a number of international football events.

Bid committee

edit
 
Moulay Hafid Elalamy in March 2014

On 10 January 2018, King Mohammed VI appointed Moulay Hafid Elalamy as chairman of the bid committee.[9]

Two days later the London-based agency VERO Communications was appointed as Lead Communications and Strategy Consultants of the Moroccan bid.[10]

  • Transportation infrastructure: new rail connections, new roads as well as highways and new aeroports or terminals.
  • The healthcare system: about 21 new hospitals.
  • The tourism industry: a large number of new hotels and leisure facilities.
  • Sports infrastructure: about 130 football stadiums will be built or renovated (Morocco presently has 38 stadiums with 10,000 or more capacity)

Bid venues

edit

Stadiums must have been able to accommodate a 1,900-square-metre (20,000 sq ft) hospitality village no more than 150 metres (490 ft) from the stadium. They must also have had a capacity of at least 40,000 for group and second round matches, 60,000 for the semi-finals, and 80,000 for the opening match and final.[11] On 22 August 2017, Morocco established a list of stadia for its bid.

Casablanca Marrakesh
Grand Stade de Casablanca
(planned) 		New Modular Stadium
(planned) 		Marrakesh Stadium
(to be renovated) 		Stade Mohammed V
(planned)
Capacity: 93,000 Capacity: 46,000 Capacity: 45,250
Capacity for WC: 69,565 		Capacity: 46,000
 
Rabat Agadir Tangier Fez
Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
(to be renovated) 		Adrar Stadium
(to be renovated) 		Ibn Batouta Stadium
(to be renovated) 		Fez Stadium
(to be renovated)
Capacity: 52,000
Capacity for WC: 46,500 		Capacity: 45,480
Capacity for WC: 46,048 		Capacity: 45,000
Capacity for WC: 65,000 		Current capacity 45,000
Capacity for WC: 46,092
Tetouan
Oujda
Stade de Tetouan
(Cancelled) 		Stade d'Oujda
(Ongoing construction start)
Capacity: 55,000 Capacity: 45,600
Meknes Nador El Jadida Ouarzazate
Grand stade de Meknès
(New Modular Stadium)
(planned) 		New Modular Stadium
(planned) 		New Modular Stadium
(planned) 		New Modular Stadium
(planned)
Capacity: 46,000 Capacity: 46,000 Capacity: 46,000 Capacity: 46,000

Urban public transportation system

edit

Highways and roads

edit

The Moroccan highway network connects most large cities in the country, being part of the transportation infrastructure in Morocco.

Rail network and rail transport

edit

Additionally the rail network connects all the proposed venues except Tetouan, Ouarzazate and Agadir. However, there were plans for projects to connect Agadir to the Moroccan high speed network (TGV) via Marrakech, and to connect Tetouan to the classic rail network via Tangier.[citation needed]

Airports and air transport

edit

All the selected cities (except El Jadida and Meknes) have their own airports; see list of airports in Morocco. The Mohamed V International Airport in Casablanca is the main international gateway into Morocco.

Support

edit

Football confederations

edit

FIFA members

edit

Public opinion

edit

The bid committee showed that 97% of Moroccans were in favour of the World Cup, including 81% with strong support. 93% of Moroccans thought the event would have had a positive impact on economy and employment, 91% of Moroccans thought the event would have had a positive impact on sports participation, and 95% of Moroccans were interested in playing football.[38]

Government support

edit

In January 2018, the Moroccan government stated its full support for Morocco's bid to host the 2026 World Cup.[39]

Marketing

edit

The logo was unveiled on 23 January 2018; it was inspired by the pentagram found on the Moroccan flag. The pentagram was surrounded by seven red leaves and kicking a football.

The slogan for the bid "Together for One Goal" (Arabic: "معا لهدف واحد") (French: "Ensemble pour le même but"), was launched on 17 March 2018.

Concerns, criticism and controversies

edit

In FIFA's evaluation report of the two bids, Morocco's bid was rated as being "high risk" for the organisation, compared with the other bid being labelled as low risk. The three categories with the worst scores were: stadiums, accommodation and transportation, which are the most important parts of any bid for the World Cup.[40] The overall bid scored 275 out of 500 points, significantly lower than the 402 scored by the other bid.[41]

In Morocco's previous World Cup bids, it was discovered that in two of those instances, the country tried to bribe voting officials. FIFA issued an integrity warning to the Moroccan bid in January 2018. The general secretary of FIFA Fatma Samoura warned voters in a letter "not to accept any technical or development support which may unduly affect the integrity of the bidding procedure".[42] Moroccan bid officials had at one point discussed a formal relationship with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) which would allow for training camps and other development activities for countries on the continent.[43]

The aforementioned Samoura was referred to FIFA's ethics committee after it was discovered she had familial links to El Hadji Diouf, an ambassador of the bid. There was a complaint that deemed this relationship to be a conflict of interest.[44]

The transportation plans put forward by the bid team were rated as being of high risk for FIFA. Out of all the sections of the bid that were scored, the transportation section received the lowest at 2.1 out of 5.[45] Concerns were raised over the dependence of just one airport for most of the flights (in Casablanca) and the lack of transportation links within cities and stadiums.[45] According to FIFA, the bid relied on high cost infrastructure across all modes of transportation in a shorter amount of time.[45]

The Moroccan bid would have needed to spend about US$16 billion in upgrades to stadiums, building new stadiums and infrastructure. This represented about 16% of the country's GDP (US$100 billion).[46] This was compared with only 6% for public health.[46] Increased spending for the World Cup, while social services receiving cuts caused a lot of protests during the last World Cup held in 2014 in Brazil.[47] There were no legacy plans for all the newly built stadiums. This was in contrast to the North American bid, which exclusively used existing stadiums and did not require any of the host countries to take on debt.[46]

FIFA had to make a second unscheduled visit to Morocco, after the governing body was not satisfied with the requirements presented in the bid book as deficiencies were discovered, unlike the North American bid. Morocco's bid leader "acknowledged it had to improve the quality of the submission made to FIFA in March [2018] because inadequacies were identified" (by FIFA).[48] When the bid was announced, only a two sentence statement was announced announcing the country's entrance into the competition. With less than six months remaining, Morocco named a chairman for its bid committee and did not have a logo or a website. This was in contrast with the North American bid, which was well ahead in planning at that point.[43]

FIFA's bid evaluation committee expressed concerns over the quality of stadiums proposed by the Moroccan bid. The committee "'noticed some deviations from the initial planned program" [in relations to the stadiums proposed]. Concerns were also raised over the quality of training grounds proposed. The president of the bid, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, mentioned that there was a need to "improve the quality of our bid book".[49] The Moroccan stadiums need extensive modernisation to match the stadiums proposed by the North American bid.[50] The stadium plans put forward by the bid team were rated as being of high risk for FIFA.[45]

FIFA criticised the bid for including several potential white elephant stadiums — expensive venues which their owners could not dispose of and whose costs, particularly those for maintenance, were out of proportion to their usefulness — compared with the North American bid, which used venues that were already in use by professional sports teams. This was done after Morocco complained of the bid process. FIFA replied, "In order to avoid unsustainable bids ... with the creation of 'white elephants' – something FIFA has been heavily criticised for in the past – the scoring system evaluates with objective criteria how meaningful and sustainable is the infrastructure presented in the bids".[51][52] Morocco was expected to spend US$16 billion if successful in tournament infrastructure, while the North American bid needed no new tournament-specific infrastructure. This put much more risk on FIFA if it selected the Moroccan bid, as listed in the evaluation committee's review of the two bids. The Moroccan bid committee accepted the fact that it could not host the event tomorrow, but the North American bid could.[53]

Security was a concern for the bid. Morocco is in the North African region which has experienced political instability and terrorist attacks in neighbouring countries of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. A terror attack happened in 2011 in Marrakesh, a proposed host city for the bid. A total of 17 people were killed in the attack at Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, which was also the proposed fan site if the bid was successful.[54]

FIFA rated the bid with a medium risk for human rights and labour standards.[41] Further concerns were raised when stray dogs were put to death by being shot while the FIFA inspection committee was there.[55]

Morocco did not mention that homosexuality is illegal in the country in its bid book. There was also no attempt how this would be mitigated (for LGBT athletes and fans) if the country was given the right to host the World Cup. FIFA's guidelines for World Cup hosts explicitly mentioned that "host countries must guarantee there is no discrimination of any nature".[56] Ahmed El Haij, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, told the Associated Press, "it is evident that if Morocco was to host the World Cup, LGBT people coming to watch the games will face a lot of discrimination. The state will not be able to protect them nor will it be able to commit in preventing measures that could be taken against them by both the state and society".[57]

The Morocco bid projected a revenue of just US$785 million, which was less than half of what the North American bid projected (at US$1.8 billion).[58] This was the primary reason that FIFA president Gianni Infantino thought of preferring the North American bid.[59]

In its bid book, Morocco acknowledged issues with "ultra" fans, which are also known as violent supporters.[58] This was highlighted in February 2018, when 65 people were arrested and vandalism was caused at a stadium in Marrakesh.[60][61]

FIFA expressed concerns over Morocco's hotel capacity. The country was expected to invest US$3.2 billion in hotel capacity in the lead-up to 2026, if successful in the bid.[62] The evaluation committee had multiple questions in regards to the capacity of the accommodation proposed.[63] About an additional 30,000 hotel rooms were thought to be needed for Morocco to stage the World Cup.[64] The accommodation plans put forward by the bid team were rated as being of high risk for FIFA, while the North American bid was rated as low risk.[45]

There were calls in some countries to not support the bid, due to the Western Sahara conflict.[65] South Africa did not support the bid, after ties between the two nations were strained since 2004 over the Western Sahara issue.[66] Other countries such as Namibia also ruled out voting for Morocco, after it claimed, "It will never support nor align itself with a coloniser".[67]

Aftermath

edit
For 2030 bid, see Morocco–Portugal–Spain 2030 FIFA World Cup bid.

After losing the 2026 bid, Morocco went on to bid for the 2030 edition and was later unanimously awarded in a joint bid with Portugal and Spain, giving Morocco to finally host it on their sixth attempt with centenary games to be held in the South American countries of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Scandal-plagued FIFA postpones 2026 World Cup bidding". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. ^ "FIFA Council agrees on four-phase bidding process for 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016.
  3. ^ "CONCACAF to ask FIFA to fast-track U.S.-led 2026 World Cup bid -- sources". 11 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  4. ^ "FIFA Council set to back North American 2026 World Cup bid". Reuters. 8 May 2017.
  5. ^ "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017.
  6. ^ "FIFA Council keeps bidding window for 2026 World Cup open for further three months". Inside the Games. 9 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Le Maroc dépose officiellement sa candidature pour organiser la Coupe du Monde 2026" [Morocco officially submits its bid to organise the 2026 World Cup]. FRMF.ma (in French). Royal Moroccan Football Federation. 11 August 2017.
  8. ^ "9 Stadiums Confirmed in Morocco's 2026 World Cup Candidacy, Amid Doubts of Infrastructure Capabilities". Morocco World News. 22 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Chairmanship of Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid Committee Assigned by HM the King to My Hafid Elalamy". Maghreb Arabe Press. 10 January 2018. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  10. ^ "VERO Appointed Lead Communications and Strategy Consultants for Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup Bid". www.verocom.co.uk. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  11. ^ Kelso, Paul (26 May 2009). "London Olympic Stadium possible venue for 2018 World Cup". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  12. ^ Lavieeco (25 October 2015). "Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier et Fès auront leurs tramways". Lavieeco (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Le tram, mais pas de métro aérien à Casablanca" [Tram yes, but no elevated metro in Casablanca] (in French). Le Figaro. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  14. ^ "World Cup 2026: CAF Supports Morocco's Bid (CAF President)". Maghreb Arabe Press. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Algeria Supports Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid". Morocco World News. 6 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Angola supports Morocco's bid to host 2026 FIFA World Cup". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Belgium endorses Morocco's 2026 bid".
  18. ^ Chuma, Festus (14 February 2018). "Botswana throws its weight behind Morocco's 2026 World Cup bid". www.soka25east.com. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Cameroon Announces Official Supports For Morocco 2026". Morocco World News.
  20. ^ "DRC backs Morocco's World Cup bid". APA News.
  21. ^ "2026 World Cup : Palestine and Egypt support the Moroccan bid". Yabiladi.
  22. ^ "France declare support for Moroccan bid for 2026 World Cup as officials begin promotional tour of Europe". Inside the Games.
  23. ^ "Guinea-Bissau backs Morocco's bid to host the 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 6 February 2018.
  24. ^ "Morocco presents 2026 FIFA World Cup bid book to FKF".
  25. ^ "Lebanon to vote for Morocco 2026". Morocco World News.
  26. ^ "Libya to vote for Morocco's bid to host 2026 World Cup". The Libya Observer. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Serbia & Luxemboug to Vote for Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid".
  28. ^ "Mondial 2026: la Birmanie soutient la candidature du Maroc".
  29. ^ Morocco World News (27 January 2018). "Nigeria Supports Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid". MoroccoWorldNews.com. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  30. ^ Football Palestine (27 March 2018). "The Palestine Football Association has made it official, announcing its intent to back the @Morocco2026_EN bid to host the first 48 team World Cup". FootballPalestine.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  31. ^ Rahul Bali (20 November 2017). "Hassan Al Thawadi: Qatar to support Morocco's bid for World Cup 2026". Goal.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  32. ^ "Russia Backs Morocco's 2026 World Cup". Morocco World News. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  33. ^ "Les Seychelles soutiennent Maroc 2026".
  34. ^ "RSB-G.Foot: le Sénégal tourne la page et réaffirme son soutien à Morocco 2026". Sport24.
  35. ^ "Tunisia Supports Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid". Morocco World News. 4 February 2018.
  36. ^ "Uganda to support Morocco in bid for 2026 FIFA World Cup". Xinhuanet. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018.
  37. ^ "ZAMBIA BACKS MOROCCO'S 2026 WORLD CUP BID". Daily Nation.
  38. ^ "Morocco ready to host FIFA World Cup 2026, face tough competition from United States, Canada and Mexico".
  39. ^ "Govt. Supports Morocco's Bid to Host 2026 FIFA World Cup: Minister". www.moroccoworldnews.com (in French). 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  40. ^ "North American bid comes out ahead of Morocco in World Cup inspections". www.cbc.ca/sports. CBC Sports. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  41. ^ a b Harris, Rob; Dunbar, Graham (1 June 2018). "FIFA: N America World Cup bid outscores 'high-risk' Morocco". Washington Post. Washington D.C., USA. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  42. ^ Panja, Tariq (29 January 2018). "FIFA Issues Integrity Warning for 2026 World Cup Vote". New York Times. New York City, United States. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  43. ^ a b Panja, Tariq (16 January 2018). "Morocco Wants to Host the World Cup. Just Don't Ask for Any Details". New York Times. New York City, United States. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  44. ^ "Fifa secretary general reported to ethics chiefs over World Cup bid". BBC News. London, United Kingdom. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  45. ^ a b c d e Morgan, Liam (1 June 2018). "Morocco avoids elimination as FIFA Task Force progresses both 2026 World Cup bids". Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  46. ^ a b c Archid, Imad (12 April 2018). "Morocco's 2026 World Cup bid is an economic suicide". www.imadarchid.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  47. ^ Watts, Jonathan (12 June 2014). "Anti-World Cup protests in Brazilian cities mark countdown to kick-off". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  48. ^ Harris, Rob (23 April 2018). "FIFA subjects 2026 Morocco World Cup bid to fresh scrutiny". www.uk.news.yahoo.com. Yahoo. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  49. ^ "FIFA questions Morocco stadium quality after surprise inspection of infrastructure". www.espn.com. ESPN. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  50. ^ Harris, Rob; Dunbar, Graham (16 March 2018). "Morocco struggles to stay in 2026 cup contest vs North America". CTV News. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  51. ^ "FIFA's 'white elephants' warning after Morocco bid criticism". www.sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  52. ^ "FIFA's 'white elephants' warning after Morocco bid criticism". www.usatoday.com. USA Today. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  53. ^ Ogden, Mark (29 March 2018). "Morocco's 2026 World Cup bid: Everything you need to know". www.espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  54. ^ Ogden, Mark (27 March 2018). "Morocco 2026 World Cup bid chief: No need for security fears". www.espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  55. ^ Warshaw, Andrew (17 April 2018). "FIFA 2026 scrutineers land in Morocco as human and animal rights questions raised". www.insideworldfootball.com. Inside World Football. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  56. ^ Dawson, Lamar (18 April 2018). "Morocco "Forgot" To Disclose That It Criminalizes Homosexuality in World Cup Bid". NewNowNext. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  57. ^ "Morocco World Cup 2026 Bid Masks Homosexuality Ban in FIFA Pitch". www.si.com. Sports Illustrated. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  58. ^ a b "Morocco touts its gun safety in 2026 World Cup bid against U.S." USA Today. McLean, Virginia, United States. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  59. ^ Morgan, Liam (23 April 2018). "FIFA preparing for second inspection of Morocco 2026 as CAF President calls for European vote-trading deal". Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  60. ^ Price, Steve (4 March 2018). "Morocco Reveals 2026 World Cup Bid Details". Forbes. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  61. ^ "65 Hooligans in Custody, MAD 720,000 in Losses After Marrakech Stadium Vandalism". Morocco World News. Rabat, Morocco. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  62. ^ "Fifa experts give Morocco 2026 World Cup bid mixed review". BBC News. London, England. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  63. ^ Pablo Díaz, José (23 April 2018). "Fifa experts express concerns about Morocco 2026 World Cup bid". Diario AS. Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  64. ^ Harris, Rob (17 March 2018). "Morocco takes on North America with $16B World Cup bid". Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  65. ^ Quintin Ndlozi, Mbuyiseni (22 April 2018). "South Africa/Morocco: EFF Calls On Safa to Boycott Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid Due to Morocco's Colonial Occupation Western Sahara". www.allafrica.com. AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  66. ^ "South Africa snubs Morocco's World Cup bid". Agence de Presse Africaine. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  67. ^ "Western Sahara conflict impacts Morocco 2026 World Cup bid". Fox Sports. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Morocco_2026_FIFA_World_Cup_bid&oldid=1259210221"