Kinshasa, March 16th, 2023 (CPA). – The king of Morocco, Mohamed VI, announced the consensual decision of his country, Spain and Portugal to present a joint bid for the organization of the 2030 World Cup, in his speech delivered on Tuesday in Kigali, Rwanda.
He made the announcement during the presentation of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Excellence Award, according to a document from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), a copy of which reached CPA on Wednesday.
« Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the ambition I have for my country is consubstantial with the ambition I have for the African continent. It is in this spirit that I announce before your assembly that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided, with Spain and Portugal, to present a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, » said the king of Morocco, in his speech before the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, and several other distinguished guests.
Mohamed VI noted that unprecedented in the history of football, this joint bid will be the junction between Africa and Europe, between the North and South of the Mediterranean, and between the African, Arab and Euro-Mediterranean worlds. It will also be a bid to bring together the best of both sides and to demonstrate an alliance of genius, creativity, experience and resources.
Prize for excellence dedicated to African youth
As for the prize awarded to the King of Morocco, he dedicated it to the youth of the whole of Africa: « Therefore, the prize that is awarded to me today is, first and foremost, a tribute to the genius of Africa and its vibrant youth. This prize represents, in my eyes, recognition of the choices I have made to put in place the conditions for its expression and promotion. Because, beyond sport, football is the fruit of a long-term construction« .
In front of the participants at the congress, Mohamed VI revealed the secret of his country, Morocco, which has been steadily increasing its power in sport over the last few years: « Ladies and gentlemen, in my country, the Kingdom of Morocco, I have been keen to make football a lever for success and sustainable human development. In addition to being a passion and an expression of creative talent, football is a vision for the future, a long-term commitment, efficient and transparent governance, and an investment in infrastructure as well as in human capital”.
For the King of Morocco, by honouring Africa during the last World Cup in Qatar, Moroccan football has also honoured the values of perseverance, self-sacrifice and surpassing oneself.
« Morocco is working to entrench these values by linking sport to education, so as to enlarge the practice of football in particular, to bring out the potential and support the talents detected through appropriate training, » he concluded.
