Parts of Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid Deemed 'High-Risk' by FIFA Ahead of Voting

FIFA inspectors have deemed three parts of Morocco's bid for the 2026 World Cup to be "high-risk."

As noted by the Associated Press (h/t ESPN FC), the package put together by Morocco scored 2.7 out of five in an assessment, compared to the score of four out of five accumulated by a joint bid put forward by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Morocco's project is "high-risk" in terms of stadiums, accommodation and transport, according to FIFA's assessment; no part of the North American bid was attributed with that type of risk factor.

Additionally, FIFA indicated that the North American campaign "has a clear lead" over Morocco in the race to host the 2026 competition.

Rob Harris of the Associated Press provided further details:

The FIFA Council still has to officially approve both bids at a summit on June 10. Any nations that had scored less than two in their assessment could have been disqualified from entering the process.

The vote to determine where the competition, which will be the first to accommodate 48 teams, will be staged will take place on June 13.

"The amount of new infrastructure required for the Morocco 2026 bid to become reality cannot be overstated," it was added by the FIFA task force. "The Morocco 2026 bid and United 2026 bid represent two almost opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the nature of their bids."

The United States previously hosted the tournament in 1994. Morocco has never had the honour and has only been the home nation for the Africa Cup of Nations once, in 1988; it was scheduled to host the tournament in 2015, although it was moved due to the Ebola virus outbreak.