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The North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup is to be affected by the global perception of the US. According to Sunil Gulati, the president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the country’s chances to organize the international tournament are likely to be harmed by the American leadership’s recent decisions, reports the Guardian on Thursday.
Speaking at the United Soccer Coaches convention on the same day, Gulati confirmed his concerns stating that «this is not only about our stadiums and our hotels and all that, it is about perceptions of America, and it’s a difficult time in the world». To back his statement, the USSF president referred to the recent report issued by the Gallup organization, a global performance-management consulting company.
In its 2018 Rating World Leaders' poll, Gallup indicates that the approval for the US has dropped moving from 48% under Barack Obama’s presidency to 30% after one year of Donald Trump.
Gulati has, in particular, made reference to the US president’s policy. «We can’t control what happens at the 38th parallel in Korea, we can’t control what happens with embassies in Tel Aviv, and we can’t control what happens with climate change accords», he stated.
One man's loss is another man's gain
Meanwhile, Morocco is the only country bidding to organize the international contest, competing with the USA, Canada and Mexico. And while the American Soccer Federation is struggling with the way the USA’s reputation is regarded under the presidency of Donald Trump, the Kingdom is working on strengthening its candidacy.
Last week, Morocco hired international strategy consultants to manage its 2026 World Cup bid. VERO, a London-based consulting firm, which was in charge of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, said that it is intending to «shape the vision of the expanded 48-team tournament in the Kingdom».
The United States of America, Mexico and Canada were the first nations to announce their wish of hosting the 2026 World Cup, submitting a joint bid in April 2017. Morocco joined four months later, declaring that it is ready to organize the tournament without giving further details on the host cities and stadiums.
For the record, updating its travel warning system, the US state department has warned American tourists against traveling to five Mexican states. Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas, are the Mexican states classed as level-four risk alongside Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
