World football governing body, FIFA, has officially confirmed Morocco as the co-host of the 2030 world cup along with Spain and Portugal, which will make the north African country the second nation in the continent to host the tournament after South Africa in 2010.

The announcement, which was made on Wednesday by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during FIFA’s virtual extraordinary Congress, also awarded the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia.

The Spain, Portugal and Morocco
joint bid code-named “Yalla Vamos,” represents the collaborative effort between the three countries aimed at uniting different continents through sport’s universal language.

President of Morocco’s Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaa who spoke on the development, emphasized the importance of the bid, extending his thanks to FIFA and the football community for contributing to making Morocco’s hosting the event possible.

Lekjaa stressed that the decision is a testament to the three countries’ commitment to growth and development, noting that sports, especially football serve as a powerful leverage for socio-economic progress and the betterment of humanity.

The bid which was presented with a captivating visual presentation, showcasing iconic football players who represent the three countries, including Portugal’s Luis Figo and Morocco’s Nordin Naybet.

The presentation underlined the unique strengths of each host nation, spotlighting their football legacy alongside touristic landmarks, culinary traditions, and cultural heritage.

One of the key infrastructure highlights is the planned 5,000-kilometer railway network that aims to connect Lisbon, Madrid, and Casablanca in just three hours.

The World Cup tournament carries special significance as it marks exactly 100 years since Uruguay hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and in this sense, the 2030 edition will feature a unique format, beginning with three opening matches in South America before moving to the main hosts for the remaining 101 matches scheduled between June 13 and July 21, 2030.

Six Moroccan cities, Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, Marrakech, and Agadir, will host matches, requiring significant infrastructure upgrades.

The 2030 World Cup marks a significant achievement for Morocco after five unsuccessful bids spanning three decades.

The tournament will begin with symbolic matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay on June 8 and 9, 2030, commemorating the centenary of the first World Cup, before moving to Morocco, Spain, and Portugal for the remainder of the competition.

A former Ghanaian footballer, Joseph Tagoe, has confessed to how reduced his age by 16 years so that he could join a foreign club and play professional football.

Tahoe, a former Hearts of Oak and Ebusua Dwarfs midfielder who was also known as Bobby Short in his playing days, recently narrated that he was already 35 years old when he reduced his age to 19 to enable him play professional football, but however, blamed his decision on poverty.

Tagoe who said the incident happened in 2017 when he received a call to join an U-19 team in Egypt, revealed how he almost lost his life because he reduced his age to play football with children he could have given birth to.

The former player who had one time played for Sharks Football Club in Nigeria, said he couldn’t resist the offer from the Egyptian club and had to falsify his age.

“I was home and received a call from Francis Martey that the Egyptian side wanted an under-19 player. Looking at my height, I said okay,” Tagoe said during an interview with ATV.

“At that time, I was recovering from an injury and training regularly. He saw I was doing well, so I had to change my passport to 19 years. In reality, I was around 34 or 35 years old. This is what poverty can make you do. The system is also not fair to us,” he added.

But, according to the former football player, things didn’t go as planned as he couldn’t cope with the rigours of the training that the U-19 teams were subjected to.

While recounting the unfortunate experience, Tagoe said he almost lost his life in the process as he had to train with both the senior and junior teams, which proved to be very challenging as age was fast catching up on him already.

To add to the trauma, he said he also had to dye his hair regularly each morning to conceal the grey hair that had started growing.

“I would have died if I hadn’t taken care of myself. They said I was more mature than the kids, so they made me train with both the senior team and the U-20s. The U-20s required a lot of running, and I always felt dizzy after training. It was clear my age was catching up with me.

“My grey hair was already showing, so I always carried dye with me and dyed my hair every morning. But I decided to leave because I would have died. Even if they had asked me to reduce my age to 15, I would have done it. There are many players like me in similar situations,” he said.