Letshwiti in Moscow as FIFA decides 2026 World Cup bid

Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday June 12, 2018 18:16

 

Voting, which pits Morocco against the united North American bid, takes place on Wednesday

Morocco presents Africa with a second opportunity to host the World Cup, but face a strong challenge from a united North American bid, which has seen Canada, Mexico and the United States join hands.

Letshwiti left Botswana unsure where to place his X, with some African countries breaking ranks and pledging support for the North American bid.

Zimbabwe and Liberia have openly said they will go with North America, shunning Morocco. South Africa had announced in May that it was withdrawing its support for Morocco, as the African country's bid has failed to rally the continent.

Morocco faces a third time unlucky, after unsuccessful attempts in 2006, 2010 and possibly this year.

Already the World Cup assessment team has scored the North American bid higher than that of Morocco, and classified the North Africans' venues as high risk.

The bidding process for the 2026 hosts has been beset more by accusations of political interference, particularly after Trump's tweet on the voting process.  “It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the US bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?” he tweeted in April. Although FIFA spoke against 'undue influence' by government but Trump tweeted again, urging African countries and 'countries throughout the world to support the US bid. We will be watching very closely.”

The territorial conflict involving the Western Sahara and Morocco has heavily weighed against the African country's bid.