Madrid, March 14 (IANS) Spain and Portugal will look to strengthen their candidacy to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup finals by adding Morocco to their bid, according to reports.
Spanish sports paper Diario AS explains that the Spanish and Portuguese have been negotiating with Morocco, with an agreement likely to be signed at the 73rd FIFA Congress, which will be held in Rwanda on Thursday, reports Xinhua.
Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales traveled to Morocco on Monday to meet with Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, to finalize details of the accord.
So far, several bids have been mooted for the 2030 World Cup, with Morocco also linked with a possible bid alongside Tunisia and Algeria. Greece, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are also thought to be preparing a bid, while Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile could also bid together.
A cross-continental bid, such as Spain, Portugal and Morocco, would have several advantages, given that much of the infrastructure is already in place, with high-quality grounds in the three countries. Meanwhile, their geographical proximity would make travel easier than with other bids.
The 2030 World Cup will feature 48 teams and this widens the scope to have more venues, as is the case for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
–IANS
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