By Karen Duarte
By Karen Duarte
Rabat – The German Football Association (DFB) is still uncertain as to which of the two bids to host the 2026 World Cup it will support. The competing offers are: a joint North American bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico and one from Morocco.
The FIFA Council will vote on the bids at the 68th FIFA Congress on Wednesday, June 13 in Moscow.
FIFA has judged Morocco’s bid to be “high-risk” because of a lack of infrastructure, transportation, and accommodations. There has also been “allegations that president Gianni Infantino has tried to undermine Morocco’s bid.”
Although Morocco should reach FIFA’s stadium and infrastructure requirements in time for the tournament, North America’s bid would allow FIFA to concentrate on other aspects of the tournament.
In the North America bid evaluations, FIFA says that they will “focus on a number of exciting initiatives related to sports science, fan engagement, multimedia interaction, and other new forms of digitalization.”
However, the North African country is believed to be popular among many of the voting countries.
According to German weekly sports magazine Sport Bild, DFB President Reinhard Grindel said his association has yet to make a decision as to which bid it will support.
“FIFA’s bid evaluation favors North American because task force sees advantages in the areas of stadium, transport, as well as ticketing and hospitality,” he said.
“But in fairness, we will now await the debate over the FIFA Council report. Only after that will the DFB delegation make a decision on which bid to back.”