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Rabat – The CEO of Morocco’s bid committee, Hicham El Amrani, assessed the country’s chances to win the hosting rights of the 2026 World Cup in a recent interview with French-based Radio France International (RFI) in the countdown to the June 13 vote.
The Moroccan official refused to comment on US President Donald Trump’s May tweet threatening countries that pledged support for Morocco 2026.
“I would rather not share my feelings about this. I simply hope that the global football family will be able to focus on football rather than politics, because if we take football into consideration, Morocco is the ideal choice for this 2026 World Cup.”
Morocco has all the assets to host World Cup
The CEO of the bid committee touted Morocco’s assets to host the tournament.
“Our country is compact enough considering the cities we promise, in relation to the distances that should be made by players and fans.” El Amrani also touted Morocco’s proximity to Europe and other countries by time zone, the “exceptional” passion that Morocco has for football, and its “tolerance and openness that makes building bridges between people possible.”
Introducing Morocco’s assets to RFI, the CEO said that the 12 cities selected to stage the games of the 2026 World Cup are located within a 550-kilometer radius of Casablanca.
Task force scoring does not disturb Morocco 2026
RFI also asked El Amrani whether the task force’s grade for the Moroccan bid is worrying for the future.
The task force validated the Moroccan bid with a score of 2.7 out of 5 on June 1. The United 2026 (North American) bid got a score of 4 out of 5.
But for Morocco the scoring is not a major issue.
“It is not disturbing. Of course, first and foremost, the goal was to ensure that we are above the minimum score of 2 out of 5. Today, we have far exceeded his minimum score. We are almost 3,” said El Amrani.
He explained that it was not surprising to Morocco “that our competitors have higher scores in terms of sports facilities. We know that the United States has sports facilities that are ready and available, but it is also the goal of a World Cup to be able to serve as a catalyst for the development of sports.
He added that the legacy of a World Cup is essential for both Morocco and Africa to “consolidate this development at different levels.”
For Morocco to win the hosting rights, it needs 104 votes. Morocco is counting on African countries to support the Moroccan bid at the 68th FIFA Congress, where the decision will be made on the 2026 World Cup host.
“As a member of the African Confederation, we count on the largest number of member federations on the African continent. But of course it will not be enough to reach the required majority to win the vote,” said El Amrani.
He added that the committee has been campaigning for the bid in several countries before the vote.
