Dylan Bettencourt
Fifa president Gianni Infantino tried to include Morocco in the joint-bid of Spain and Portugal for the 2030 World Cup, El Confidencial has revealed.
Fifa has in the past insisted that there is no involvement from the governing body in the bidding process but the Morocco leaks have raised concerns that this might not be the case.
In November 2018 Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez approached the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, about the possibility of including his nation in its World Cup bid.
The Spanish FA later released a statement declining any knowledge of the plan. This forced the prime minister to message Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales regarding its position on the bid.
“Both you and Infantino proposed the idea to me that I praised. It came out of that meeting and it was made public, not by our side,” said Sanchez in a WhatsApp message published by El Confidencial.
Rubiales later explained that the Spanish FA denied any knowledge of Morocco’s involvement to avoid ruffling the feathers of Fifa and Uefa.
The plan to include Morocco in the 2030 bid has since vanished as Uefa said they do not support bids involving other confederations.
A bid from South America that includes Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile is set to rival the European bid.
Image source: @SouthChinaMorningPost
