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How Morocco became the destination of choice for African football

It has been long in the making and cost hundreds of millions in investment, but Morocco have turned their previous pariah status on the African continent into a powerful position of control, topped by finally earning the right to host the World Cup after decades of trying. They are also to stage the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals, winning hands down in battle with neighbours Algeria and scoring a public relations coup in the process.

The timing of FIFA’s decision to award the hosting of the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Portugal and Spain caught everyone off guard, but will prove part of a wider Machiavellian compromise that allows some early games to be played in South America – on the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup in Uruguay – and sets up the chance for FIFA to steer the 2034 finals to Saudi Arabia and get to tap deeper into their sudden appetite for sports investment.

The decision on the 2030 World Cup was supposed to be voted on by FIFA’s member associations at next May’s congress in Bangkok, where now they will be asked to rubber stamp the decision made in October by the FIFA Council.

Morocco have waited a long time for the opportunity having been defeated in all their previous bids, suffering disappointing setbacks in close-run affairs.

They first attempted for the 1994 finals but lost by three votes to the United States. Those were the days when the hosting decision was the preserve of the powerful FIFA executive committee.

In the 1998 process, they were pitted against France, England, Germany and Switzerland but, after all the other European candidates withdrew, France overcame Morocco 12-7.