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On Thursday, 15th of March, the Moroccan 2026 Bid Committee submitted the Kingdom’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup at FIFA headquarters in Zurich. To beat the North-American bid, Morocco is expected to generate 104 votes. However, Saudi Arabia might not be one of the countries to back the Moroccan proposal.
This was confirmed through a statement made public by the Saudi's Sports Authority's chairman. On his Twitter account, Turki al-Sheikh hinted that Saudi Arabia might not support Morocco in its bid to host the international competition, reports Al Jazeera English.
لم يطلب أحد أن ندعمه في ملف 2026
— تركي آل الشيخ (@Turki_alalshikh) 18 mars 2018
وفي حال طُلب منا سنبحث عن مصلحة المملكة العربية السعودية أولا...??
اللون الرمادي لم يعد مقبولا لدينا ...!
«If we were asked for support, we would firstly look at what serves Saudi Arabia's best interest», he wrote, adding that «to be in the grey area is no longer acceptable to us», referring to Morocco’s support for Qatar.
Saudi Arabia’s Sports Authority's chairman did not stop there. He wrote a new tweet saying : «There are those who were mistaken in their direction … If you want support, it'll be in Riyadh. What you're doing is a waste of time…».
The Qatar crisis
Through his tweets, al-Sheikh was referring to Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s biggest enemy. Indeed, Doha strongly supports the Moroccan bid. Last week, the Qatari Prime Minister, while visiting Rabat to attend the 7th Joint Commission, reiterated his country’s will to back the Kingdom of Morocco. Turki al-Sheikh is also president of the Arab Football Union; a position that requires him to support Morocco’s bid.
On Saturday, al-Sheikh sent his advisor to Rabat. He met with the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Faouzi Lakjaâ, and presidents of WAC and Raja. Speaking to the national TV channel, the envoy said that Arab countries are supporting the Moroccan file. This visit and statement were only a way of convincing Moroccan officials not to boycott the next Arab championship.
هناك من اخطى البوصلة اذا اردت الدعم فعرين الاسود في الرياض هو مكان الدعم، ماتقوم به هو اضاعة للوقت دع "الدويلة" تنفعك...! رساله من الخليج ل المحيط .
— تركي آل الشيخ (@Turki_alalshikh) 18 mars 2018
Last week and in an interview with a Saudi newspaper, Turki al-Sheikh did not exclude the option of supporting the candidacy of the three North American states :
«We hear about Morocco's intention. We are considering the best choice (...) the interest of Saudi Arabia is above all. Saudi Arabia's vote will serve its interests.»
In 2006, Qatar has fiercely opposed Morocco’s bid to host the World Cup. However, this position has changed since Morocco has showed support for the country during its crisis with Arab countries in the Golf region.
For the record, each federation will have to vote for the two bidders and that will be made public which will «make bloc votes». To put it in other words, all of Africa will vote for Morocco as they won’t have the privilege of a hidden ballot.
