Rabat- When FIFA decided to appoint a special committee of five experts and charged them with evaluating and appraising the “technical merits” of the contending bids for the 2026 World Cup, there was understandable concern and suspicion that the move was part of a broader plan to thwart Morocco’s hopes of hosting the most illustrious tournament of the beautiful game.
Rabat- When FIFA decided to appoint a special committee of five experts and charged them with evaluating and appraising the “technical merits” of the contending bids for the 2026 World Cup, there was understandable concern and suspicion that the move was part of a broader plan to thwart Morocco’s hopes of hosting the most illustrious tournament of the beautiful game.
The suspicions gained a wide following when FIFA’s president—somehow unwittingly—showed glimmers of his pro-America leanings when it comes to the hosting rights of the 2026 edition.
According to recent reports, however, Morocco’s bid will allegedly not be disqualified by the task force.
The task force, which arrived in Morocco on April 16, is currently engaged in a week-long tour during which the five-man committee will visit four of the 12 cities expected to host the ultimate tournament, should Morocco’s bid emerge victorious in June.
Reporting yesterday on the committee’s first impressions of Morocco’s technical readiness to host the tournament (i.e. stadiums, infrastructure, hotels), Al Akhbar said that present indicators point to a certain impossibility of that Morocco’s bid will be disqualified on purely technical grounds.
While the North African bid exhibits some technical weak spots, particularly the size and “modern appeal” of the venues picked to host the matches, Morocco also presents a mountain of undeniable merits upon which many football connoisseurs agree. What is more, the country still has time to attend to many of its current weaknesses prior to the tournament in 2026, as it constructs new venues and modernizing existing structures.
Historically, Brazil in 2014, South Africa in 2010, Qatar in 2022, and even Russia 2018, adopted a construction program to renew, modernize, and also build stadiums. Given Morocco’s robust infrastructural plan for the years leading up to the tournament, any dismissal on purely a technical basis is highly unlikely.
However, as with any major development plan linked to a global event, past World Cup tournaments have come with national complaints that the money should have been invested in good of the country as a whole, as opposed to building venues for a one-month long tournament.
But to that claim, the organizing committee of Morocco 2026 has an answer: sound investments to benefit both the game and society at large. In other words, Moroccan officials know that they need to bring novelty and effectiveness in their way of connecting the emotional and socio-economic factors that accompany such an international celebration.
“We want to use football to change lives,” said the chief of Morocco 2026 in a recent interview with ESPN, suggesting that the investments proposed for Morocco 2026 will be allocated in a sound and long-term beneficial manner.
As for the merits of the bid, Morocco’s organizational and socio-economic strengths include the established reputation of the country as a touristic hub, complete with state-of the art hotels, historical cities. Its strategic location bridging Africa and Europe (and providing a better viewing time zone for football fans) is undeniable. Morocco’s bid is not one that can be disqualified, or even ignored–at least technically.
Which brings us the next advantage of the North African country: the national passion for football–such a sustained and mythical love is a sure recipe for a memorable tournament. But that would be grossly beside the point: will the task force eliminate Morocco’s bid? Or can it?
Maybe it might want to, but it is arguable whether it can, or will, especially given FIFA’s recent response to Morocco’s concerns over the new body. Football’s governing body labeled the results of the task force as “not required, but influential” earlier this month.
The contradiction between the delayed announcement of the “influential” task force has let many to believe that FIFA seeks to label Morocco “technically unfit,” or a potential waste of resources for FIFA and other involved parties, in order to affect the final June vote.
If the speculation proves to be true, Morocco must maximize the remaining month and a half to defend the merits of its bid and convince—as they’ve been doing for months—national football federations that voting for Morocco on June 13 is the best choice.
Hence, while Morocco 2026 should not completely dismiss the task force and its “expert opinion,” the organizing committee should be redirect its campaign to appeal to more federations, because that is all that truly matters. The South American confederation, which was expected to endorse Morocco, has just announced support for its continental representatives. This, and not the task force’s evaluation (whatever that will be), constitutes a major blow to Morocco 2026.
Moroccan officials in charge of promoting the bid should make sure that this does not happen again. The task force can say what it thinks, and Morocco can do little, if anything at all, to change that. But what Morocco can do, and what it should really be focusing on, is work harder to win the hearts and minds of those who will make the final decision.
