The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has hailed the 2030 FIFA World Cup hosting rights granted to Morocco alongside Portugal and Spain by the world football governing body.
In a congratulatory message by CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, it said securing the hosting rights for the 2030 World Cup further highlighted the immense potential that the African continent held in terms of football which would contribute significantly to the development of African football.
“CAF believes that Morocco’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2030 will contribute significantly to the development and growth of football in Africa, particularly amongst the African youth whose population is the fastest growing youth population in the World,” Motsepe said in the message.
The CAF President expressed his confidence that Morocco would give Africa a very good representation along with Portugal and Spain, believing that the 2030 World Cup would be a great successful.
He stressed that the collaboration between the three neighbouring countries reflected the unity that existed between Africa and Europe in football, which he says will “inspire all of us to work together and make the World a better place.”
Motsepe also praised Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, as well as the government, the President of the Moroccan Royal Federation of Football, Fouzi Lekjaa, and people of the North African country for supporting the 2030 World Cup bid.
The 2030 World Cup, which will be the centenary edition of the tournament, will mark the first time that three continents host the tournament.
Asides Morocco, Portugal and Spain, which are the original hosts of the competition, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina will host one match each to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first-ever World Cup that was held in Uruguay in 1930.
Morocco will dedicate six stadiums to host matches in the 2030 World Cup, according to Lekjaa.
“To date, we have identified six locations to host the 2030 World Cup, namely Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir, Fez, in addition to the Grand Stadium of Casablanca, which will be built soon,” Lekjaa said in an interview on Thursday.