In Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, where the FIFA Congress is taking place, Mohammed VI announced a candidacy “unprecedented in the history of football, which will unite Africa and Europe, the north and south of the Mediterranean, and the African, Arab and European worlds", in addition to bringing "the best of all".
The message was read out by the Moroccan Minister of Sports, Chakib Benmoussa.
Portugal and Spain had announced an Iberian candidacy to organise the 2030 World Cup, in 2021, which Ukraine later joined, after the Russian invasion of that country, in October 2022.
The Moroccan sovereign made no reference to the Ukrainians, suggesting that this country would withdraw from the project, in an announcement made after the suspension of the president of the Ukrainian federation, Andrii Pavelko, arrested at the end of November for misappropriating funds.
The inclusion of Morocco has been talked about in the media and, in addition to being a geographically close country, would allow the competition to be held for the first time on two different continents, in addition to responding to bids by the African country, which lost out in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026, which will have the United States, Mexico and Canada hosting the event.
Argentina and Uruguay started the South American candidacy, which intends to commemorate the centenary of the competition where it began, meanwhile reinforced with the inclusion of Paraguay and Chile, with the participation of Bolivia open.
The Moroccans, who had already expressed their intention to apply in 2018, achieved, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the best performance ever by an African team.
FIFA will announce in 2024 who has won the bid, the second tournament to receive 48 countries, instead of the 32 that participated in Qatar, after this extended format is inaugurated in 2026.