North African nation Morocco will join forces with Spain and Portugal in three-way bid to host the 2030 soccer World Cup, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Spain and Portugal had initially been joined by Ukraine as a potential partner for their 2030 bid, but with the latter’s war with Russia having no end in sight, Morocco have stepped in.
Morocco have bid for several World Cup finals in the past, coming closest in the race to stage the 2010 tournament where they lost out to South Africa.
They stunned the world at the tournament in Qatar last year when they became the first African side to reach the semi-finals where they lost to France. Morocco eventually finished fourth behind Croatia.
The African nation also hosted the 2022 Club World Cup, which was delayed due to the Qatar World Cup and held last month.
There is one other confirmed joint bid for the 2030 finals from South American nations Argentina, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay. The latter hosted the first World Cup finals in 1930.
The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada with 48 teams playing a total of 104 matches.
FIFA approved a new format on Tuesday with 12 groups where the top two teams and eight best third-placed teams moving into the knockout round of 32.
