“
I would like to announce that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided, together with Spain and Portugal, to submit a joint bid for the organization of the 2030 World Cup
,” said King of Morocco Mohammed VI in a letter read by the country's sports minister, Chakib Benmoussa, in Kigali, where FIFA is hosting its 73rd congress on Thursday.
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Spain and Portugal had initially been joined by Ukraine as potential partners for their bid to host the 2030 World Cup, but the latter's war with Russia with no end in sight, the Morocco took over.
“
This joint candidacy, unprecedented in the history of football, will bring together Africa and Europe, the North and South of the Mediterranean, the African, Arab and Euro-Mediterranean worlds,” also declared King Mohammed VI
.
Morocco has applied for several stages of the World Cup in the past.
He came closest in the race to host the 2010 tournament, where he lost to South Africa.
Since then, the African country has also hosted the 2022 Club World Cup. Another joint bid for the 2030 finals has been confirmed by South American countries: Argentina (hosts in 1978), Paraguay, Chile (1962) and Uruguay (1930).
In Qatar, the Moroccans surprised the whole world by becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals, where they lost to France (2-0).
Morocco eventually finished fourth behind Croatia.