Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – French sports news outlet L’Equipe has alleged that Ukraine is involved in the World Cup hosting joint bid that includes Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
The news outlet said, “the Spanish, Portuguese, Ukrainian and Moroccan bids want to emphasize environmental and human sustainability.”
The news comes as Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, have been gearing up for the race to host the 2030 World Cup.
Morocco announced its decision to join the bid on March 14, with both Spain and Portugal hailing the move as a good and positive message to the world.
The news of Ukraine’s involvement in the bid comes a few months after converging reports, stressing that Ukraine is still part of the Morocco-Spain-Portugal bid.
The reports came in response to an open letter from Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain’s Royal Federation.
“We are working every day at all levels so that Spain, Portugal, Ukraine, and Morocco can organize the World Cup in 2030,” Spanish media quoted Ruiales’ open letter as saying.
While L’Equip acknowledged that the prospect of Ukraine hosting the global tournament is dependent on the war situation in the country, sources from Morocco’s World Cup 2030 bid committee have questioned the inclusion of Ukraine in the joint bid.
One source from the Moroccan committee said they were “surprised” by L’Equipe’s report, arguing that “the Mooccan-Iberian candidacy was announced on March 14. Since then, the parties (Spain, Morocco, Portugal) have been working to prepare a solid case” without the mention of Ukraine.
Read also: CAF, UEFA Back Morocco’s Joint Bid to Host 2030 World Cup
In addition to Ukraine, L’Equipe also mentioned Saudi Arabia as a potential competitor in the World Cup hosting race.
However, converging reports in June announced Saudi Arabia’s decision to withdraw their World Cup 2030 joint bid with Greece and Egypt.
According to the news website Greek City Times, the decision aims to allow a European joint bid to win the hosting rights in 2030.
The news report also attributed the situation to the economic crisis that both Greece and Egypt are facing despite Saudi’s pledges to help finance the development of the two countries’ sports infrastructure.
