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Rabat – The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has joined 12 other national football associations in criticizing comments attributed to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin about the expansion of the FIFA World Cup.
The federations issued a joint statement after reports claimed Ceferin had described some matches created by the tournament’s expansion as uninteresting.
They said they were disappointed by the reported remarks and rejected the idea that any World Cup fixture could be considered unimportant.
“For our countries, there is no FIFA World Cup match without importance,” the statement said.
The statement stressed that reaching the World Cup is a major achievement for every participating country.
For several nations, qualification represents the result of years of investment, preparation, and sacrifice by players, coaches, clubs, football officials, and supporters.
The federations pointed to Cabo Verde, Curaçao, and Uzbekistan, which are making their first appearances at the tournament.
They also pointed to the return of Congo DR and Haiti after long absences from the competition, saying their participation carries special meaning for millions of supporters.
According to the statement, dismissing any of these teams or their matches ignores the work behind their qualification and the importance of the occasion to their countries.
Football does not belong to a small group
The signatories argued that football does not belong to a limited group of powerful countries.
They said the World Cup’s strength comes from bringing together teams with different histories, cultures and football traditions.
“Every nation that qualifies deserves respect. Every team has qualified on merit. Every match counts,” the statement added.
Morocco signed the declaration alongside Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Cabo Verde, Congo DR, Curaçao, Haiti and Uzbekistan.
The 2026 tournament is the first men’s World Cup to feature 48 countries, an increase from the 32-team format used between 1998 and 2022.
The new format includes 12 groups of four teams and a total of 104 matches, compared with 64 at the previous edition in Qatar.
Questions remain, however, about the exact remarks that led to the joint response.
Reports citing sources close to UEFA said Ceferin had not recently described World Cup matches as uninteresting and that officials were unsure where the claim came from.
Ceferin has previously opposed further expansion of the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, calling the proposal a “bad idea.” However, that criticism did not include the wording challenged in the federation’s statement.
