Rabat – Supportive statements backing the 2026 Morocco World Cup bid continue to pour in, as only forty days separate the world from the 68th FIFA Congress, where international football federations will cast their votes for the 2026 World Cup host on June 13.
According to international football news outlet Sofoot, the Moroccan bid has started worrying the US and its President Donald Trump, referring to the threatening tweet Trump posted in April against countries promising support for the Moroccan bid.
“Unlike Morocco, the United States is not a real football country,” said the sporting source.
Sofoot further questioned how a country that has immigration issues due to Trump’s administration could be able to host the tournament.
“How can they build a coherent bid if Trump insists on extending the wall that separates the two territories?” he wondered.
Trump’s immigration policy is detrimental for the North American joint bid, according to Sofoot, which extends to include the travel ban on Muslim countries.
The US’ claims of infrastructural superiority is no longer a winning card, as news analysis sites have expressed concerns over how the US will deal US President Trump’s stance on refugees, immigration, and anti-terrorism policy.
Trump’s now-infamous World Cup bid tweet may cost the US the bid, if FIFA’s regulations are upheld, as they prohibit any political interference in the bid process.
The world’s governing football body, has not reacted on Trump’s threat. Recently, Morocco World News asked FIFA about its stance on the tweet, to which the organization said that it “cannot comment on specific statements in connection with the bidding process.”
MWN’s questions have already been answered by both FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President of the US Soccer Federation Sunil Gulati, who both have previously said that Trump’s immigration policy could prevent the US from hosting the tournament.
“Teams who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. That is obvious,” Infantino told British press in March 2017, emphasizing the incompatibility of Trump’s policy with FIFA regulations.
In January 2018, Gulati said that “This is not only about our stadiums and hotels. It is about perceptions of America…it is a difficult time for the world.”
Countries from all the corners of the world have already promised support for the Moroccan bid, including Saint Lucia, Qatar, Botswana, Nigeria, Kenya, Belgium, France, Egypt, Tunisia, and Russia.
