The 68th FIFA Congress on Wednesday decided that the joint bid of the USA, Canada, and Mexico got the needed votes to host the 2026 World Cup.
The congress was held at the Expocentre in Moscow. The president of the football governing body, Gianni Infantino, announced the result after an e-voting process
Morocco’s bid got 63 votes while the United bid amassed 134 votes.
One fact that stood out in the two bids was the need for Morocco to build at least nine new stadiums to accommodate the new 48-team tournament.
The USA, Mexico, and Canada already have the needed infrastructure in place, which meant the North American bid would be cheaper to host.
Morocco’s fifth bid, which had former Super Eagles forward, Daniel Amokachi, as a spokesperson at Wednesday’s Congress, probably fell at the better profit margin promised by the United bid – $14.3 billion as to $7.2 billion promised by the Moroccan bid.
The challenge of the United bid would be travel for the games across six time zones but an exemplary transportation network and a well-developed tourism industry will help.
How Nigeria, other countries voted – FIFA
In a bid process that lasted 15 seconds, FIFA revealed that Nigeria, through the Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick, voted for Morocco.
There were insinuations that after President Donald Trump sort of threatened to withhold or stop aid and help to countries they currently support, there were fears that a lot of countries, including Nigeria, would be forced to vote for the United bid.
However, Nigeria’s relationship with Morocco has improved over the years leading to a first presidential visit by a Nigerian leader to the North African country. During President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit, several agreements were signed between Nigeria and Morocco.
Out of the 53 CAF-affiliated countries; nine voted for the joint bid – Benin Republic, Botswana, Cape Verde, Guinea, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Ghana was unavoidably absent because of recent developments that saw the federation president resign.
Of the superpowers, China, France, and Italy voted for Morocco while Russia, Germany, and Japan voted the joint bid.
.
You can also find us on:
0 Comments