Rabat - Algeria is taking the idea seriously. The Algerian cabinet is expected to study a possible joint Maghreb bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Rabat – Algeria is taking the idea seriously. The Algerian cabinet is expected to study a possible joint Maghreb bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
The government is expected to study the request in its September ministerial council.
Algerian news outlet Ennahar quoted a “reliable source,” who said the president of the Algerian football federation. Kheireddine Zetchi, will submit an official request to Algerian Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Hattab on the bid.
The request will be for a joint Maghreb bid, uniting Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
The idea also received applause from the leaders of the North African Football Union (UNAF) at a seminar last Saturday in Tunis.
Morocco lost its bid to win the hosting rights for the FIFA 2026 World Cup. However, the country is determined more than ever that its next try will be successful.
Both Tunisia and Algeria welcomed the idea of hosting a united Maghreb bid.
The president of the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF), Wadie Jary, told BBC in July that his country is open to the idea.
“We have not received any official offers, but we are open to this idea and we would like that to happen,” he said.
In the same month, Algeria’s Hattab said that “with the sports infrastructure that was built, Algeria is ready to study a possible joint bid.”
Morocco has not yet decided on the possibility of a joint bid. Head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa said in July that the possibility of bidding jointly with neighboring countries is still undecided.
For many, including the secretary-general of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), Taib Baccouche, a Maghreb bid would be strong enough to win the rights to host the World Cup as FIFA’s president expressed recently that he prefers joint bids.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique in July, Baccouche said that the “Maghreb has a real card to play this time.”
“The idea was born after two observations: the official support of all the Maghreb for the Moroccan bid and the choice of a World Cup held by three countries in 2026.”
“All this convinced us, at the general secretariat of the UMA, to coordinate a Maghreb bid for 2030 and to start the process,” he added.
Although Morocco did not study the possibility of a Maghreb joint bid, the North African nation could surprise football fans with a joint bid with Spain. The president of the Spanish Royal Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, told news outlet EFE that there would be more cooperation between Morocco’s FRMF and the Spanish federation.
His remarks were made on the sidelines of a conference before the Spanish Super Cup, which was played in Tangier on August 12. Rubiales’ administration also pledged that the joint bid is still under discussion, according to EFE.
According to Baccouche, there will be a number of bids presented to FIFA to host the tournament. “By 2030, there will be an Asian bid from China and probably one from three South American countries. The competition is serious, but Africa has not often had a chance.”
Morocco may also face another strong bid from countries in the UK.
