![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 - Africans wanting to come to Morocco will have to get an entry permit at least 96 hours before departure.
The measure is due to the large numbers of migrants arriving in Morocco and wishing to complete an undocumented journey to Europe.
The Moroccan foreign ministry will now require all African travelers, except Tunisians and Algerians, to fill out an online form on the ministry’s website to get a permit, Reuters wrote.
The measure will impact countries that currently have visa-free access to Morocco: Mali, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Côte d’Ivoire.
According to a documentReuters saw from the Moroccan embassy in Mali, the move aims to help Moroccan authorities identify incoming travelers and “facilitate passenger traffic.”
According to a document issued by Royal Air Maroc, the new regulation came into force Thursday, November 1, for citizens of Congo, Guinea, and Mali.
Morocco may be adopting the move as an alternative to the European Union’s proposal to build reception centers in Morocco to process migrants’ asylum applications. Morocco has rejected the proposal.
An estimated 40,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean from Morocco since January.
