According to an announcement made by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, Spain and Morocco are discussing the possibility of placing a joint bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Africa and Europe could jointly host the World Cup if the plan was to be successful. The Spanish premier has already held talks with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI about the same. If the bid was to be successful it would present the possibility of one of the most interesting World Cup showdowns there has ever been.
According to the Spanish primer, the bid will involve Portugal as well. The first joint hosting of the World cup was in 2002. The tournament was hosted by Japan and South Korea, for the first time in Asia. The World Cup was also played for the first time on African soil when South Africa hosted the 2010 world cup. A joint host by two continents will certainly be something FIFA officials would want to consider, giving there is always a controversy about biases in hosting.

This will not be the first bid by three countries to host jointly host the world cup. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. That will make Mexico the first country to host three men’s world cups. The bid discussions by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco sound a lot more interesting though.
The close proximity of Morocco, in Africa, to Spain and Portugal, in Europe, makes it seem easy for the countries to host the tournament jointly. Teams will not have to travel long distances mid-tournament for matches. Some teams in the 2026 world cup with have to fly for long hours mid-tournament to meet their rivals. Such travels are always a concern when it comes to joint hosting.
“I made the proposal, firstly to the government then to King Mohammed VI to launch a shared application with Morocco, Portugal, Spain to host the 2030 World Cup.” That is Sanchez speaking after the meeting with the King in Rabat.
“It will be the first two-continent application, with Europe and Africa, and King Mohammed VI welcomed the proposal warmly,” Sanchez said.
Apparently, the King has earlier ordered the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to lace their own Word Cup Bid. The federation has not made any statement regarding the plans for a joint bid though. The joint bid has more chances of being successful than a solo Moroccan bid. A Spanish-Portugal-Morocco World Cup sounds more realistic than even the Canada-Untied States-Mexico World Cup, which has already been approved.
Failed Attempts
Morocco is likely to consider the joint bid, given their many failed attempts to host the world cup. Morocco has bid for five times to host the World Cup and have failed to earn the hosting rights each time. They were beaten by the Canada-United States-Mexico bid for the 2026 World Cup. They should probably employ the same strategy this time around, to ensure they bring the World Cup to the southern shores of the Mediterranean.
As mentioned earlier, a joint hosting by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco sounds practical and realistic. The three countries are quite close to each other, and they are not vast. Travelling from one capital to the other will be easy. The European countries will compensate for whatever shortcoming that FIFA officials have always thought Morocco has. Both European and African corporates would get a chance to get involved.
 
FIFA world cup will be going to Asia for the second time when the showdown happens in Qatar in 2022. It would only be fair that the showdown is brought to Africa once more.
Morocco’s World Cup Exploits
Morocco is one of Africa’s football powerhouses. It has featured in the world cup five times, the first one being in 1970, and the last one in the just concluded 2018 World Cup in Russia. Among their most impressive appearances in the world cup, is the one in 1986. They became the first African team to win a group in the world cup. They finished the group ahead of Portugal, Poland, and England.
Morocco featured in the 2018 world cup in Russia for the first time in 20 years.  ‘The Lions of the Atlas’, as they are nicknamed, is a notable football team and deserve to play in the World Cup on their home soil in 2030
Spain won the 2010 World Cup played in South Africa. They have hosted the World Cup once before in 1982. They also launched a joint bid with Portugal for the 2018 World Cup but lost to Russia. Portugal has never had the privilege of hosting the World Cup. All these aspects make a joint bid by the three countries more likely to succeed. The bid would certainly tickle the imaginations of many people around the world.
The bid has not been launched yet, and none of the three countries has made any formal communication about launching the bid. It was only discussed in Rabat when the Spanish prime minister, his Moroccan counterpart, and the King met earlier this month. They were all apprehensive of the idea if the statements made by the Spanish premier are anything to go by. Collaborating with Spain and Portugal seems to be Morocco’s best chance of making their dream come true. Portugal must also be relishing their chances of hosting the biggest showdown in the world come 2030.
Conclusion
Morocco has been trying to bring the World Cup to Africa once again but their efforts have not borne any fruit. Launching a joint bid with Spain and Portugal might just be their best shot at it. A world cup at the north African country would be a great thing for the West African football powerhouses as well.
The suggestion has received support from various quarters and it seems certain that it will be launched. Given the circumstances surrounding these three countries as far as hosting the World Cup is concerned. The bid will certainly be one of the strongest places for the 2030 world cup.