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Rabat – Spanish Minister for the Presidency, Felix Bolanos, has described the joint 2030 World Cup bid with Morocco and Portugal as an exciting project, saying that his country is optimistic about the winning changes of the cooperative, Euro-African bid.
In an interview with Spanish news outlet Marca, Bolanos stressed that the joint bid is a unique opportunity for Spain to secure the right to host the footballing world’s most prestigious tournament.
“Now we are working on another project that we are very excited about, which is the World Cup bid with Portugal and Morocco,” Bolanos said, adding that the three countries are working hard to secure the hosting rights of the 2030 World Cup. It is “time for Spain to organize a great international competition,” he enthused.
Spain and Portugal have already shown commitment to the joint bid, with both countries appearing to relish the chance to organize with Morocco the world’s first-ever transcontinental World Cup.
At a joint press conference last month with his Portuguese counterpart, Antonio Costa, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the joint bid as a “very good and positive message to the world,” adding: “We should be happy with his decision, because it puts this bid in a better position to win this race.”
Costa echoed the Spanish head of government’s remarks, stressing that this joint bid is meant to “celebrate sport together by defending a fair and balanced competition.”
On March 14, Morocco officially announced its decision to join the transcontinental bid.
Chakib Benmoussa, Morocco’s Minister of Sports, announced the news through a written message King Mohammed VI addressed to the participants at a CAF awards ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda.
“I would like to announce, before this assembly, that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided, together with Spain and Portugal, to present a joint bid to host the 2023 World Cup,” said the message read by Benmoussa on behalf of King Mohammed VI.
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Many have since then expressed support for the bid, most notably including the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and European football’s governing body UEFA.
The CAF Executive Committee has unanimously agreed to support Morocco’s joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host the footballing world’s utmost showpiece. This decision means that Morocco’s bid is “now the bid of the African continent,” CAF President Patrice Motsepe has said.
“We are now focusing on ensuring that Africa once more hosts the FIFA World Cup and are committed to working together with all Football National Associations and Confederations to make this happen,” he stressed.
For his part, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has described the joint bid as a good idea, saying that the transcontinental project “makes sense” since Morocco is “very, very close to Spain and Portugal.”
