![Spanish Representatives Oppose Morocco’s Joint Bid with Spain and Portugal Spain’ Prime Minister proposed a trio bid with Morocco and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup; but the idea does not appear to be popular with Spanish politicians. The representatives of two Spanish political parties, the People’s Party and the Citizens-Party, have said they do not want Spain to submit a joint candidacy with Portugal and Morocco for the 2030 World Cup. In a meeting organized by the National Federation of Sports Facilities Entrepreneurs (FNEID) in Madrid, the People’s party representative, Vicente Azpitarte dismissively spoke about Spain joining a trio with Morocco and Portugal to organize the World Cup. Azpitarte specifically wondered whether Spain would get any advantages from teaming up with the two countries, t Spanish news outlet Iusport reported on Wednesday. The Citizens-Party representative, Roberto Nunez, agreed with Azpitarte. “We do not intend to organize a World Cup with other countries. Spain has more than enough capacity [to organize the World Cup], it is a country that has already organized a World Cup, and we do not understand that proposal,” Nunez said. The adviser of United Podemos, Oscar Penas, stated that he does not clearly see why “the priority is to organize a World Cup or an Olympiad at this time.” Morocco and Spain cooperate on a number of issues, ranging from security and migration to trade and education. On November 18, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, arrived in Morocco for a first visit since his election to premiership. During his visit, Sanchez proposed to both Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and King Mohammed VI a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup. “We are launching a joint message, which is that this will be a bid between two continents. The King of Morocco is receptive and we’re going to work on it with Portugal. We are very excited about it,” Sanchez said.](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ABL-Launches-in-Casablanca-Becoming-Africa’s-First-Aircraft-Leaser-180x135.jpeg "ABL Launches in Casablanca, Becoming Africa’s First Aircraft Leaser")
Rabat - Qatari sports channel beIN Sports has officially urged FIFA to take measures against a Saudi-based piracy network called “BeOutQ.”
Rabat – Qatari sports channel beIN Sports has officially urged FIFA to take measures against a Saudi-based piracy network called “BeOutQ.”
The general counsel of beIN Sports told French press agency AFP that his company “requested FIFA to take direct legal action against Arabsat and the indications we have shown that they are behind that.”
Saudi-based BeOutQ, according to Europe 1, will pirate the transmission of FIFA’s 64 games of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The Saudi channel is “geo-locked,” so internet users across Saudi Arabia can access the channel for GBP 80.
Last week beIN Sports, which owns the broadcast rights to the World Cup in Saudi Arabia, invested GBP 12,000 to stop BeOutQ from stealing broadcasts of sports events.
The Independent quoted Managing Director of beIN Sports Tom Keaveny, saying that “the pirated signal is being transmitted by the Riyadh-based satellite provider Arabsat, whose largest shareholder is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
A number of Arab countries are boycotting the Qatari-owned sports channel since Saudi Arabia and its allies decided to cut ties with Qatar in June 2017, allegedly for its involvement in funding terrorist groups.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia announced its intention to launch the largest sports network in the Middle East, PBS Sports, to compete with the Qatari sports network.
International news sources, including Europe 1, announced that beIN sports will offer free broadcasts of the 22 games featuring Arab countries in the 2018 World Cup.
The Moroccan team is gearing up for the world’s premier tournament. The World Cup opening game for Morocco will be on June 15 against Iran, and the second will be against Portugal on June 20. The last game of the first round of the World Cup will be against Spain on June 25.
