Morocco: sport consolidates the union between Africa and Europe | Atalayar
Held every four years, the World Cup is not only the greatest event in beautiful football, but also a call to rally football fans from around the world. As a result, sectors such as transport, hospitality and leisure will be boosted due to the large crowds that the football festival attracts. Access and facilities are improved, investments are made in the frequency of transport to the stadiums, thereby creating jobs and signing contracts that ultimately benefit not only the Moroccan, Spanish and Portuguese citizens themselves, but also all who are later want to return to these countries.
When we speak of the World Cup, we are referring to socio-economic development. It is an event that, like sport itself, transcends borders and classes. Proof of this are the thousands of children who faced economic difficulties in their childhood and now, thanks to the values of sport and their dedication and commitment, support the communities that need it most, such as Bayern Munich’s Senegalese striker Sadio Mané , who donates part of his salary each year to build hospitals and promote sport in his country of origin. Let’s not forget that it is the most watched sporting event in the world with more than 4 billion viewers, which means that one in two people watches the final.
— FRMF (@FRMFOFFICIEL) March 14, 2023
The 2030 bid was conceived in 2018 when the governments of Portugal and Spain began negotiations on a joint bid. In November of the same year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took advantage of FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s recent visit to present him with the much-anticipated bid: Morocco-Portugal-Spain. Sánchez met with the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, and his Portuguese counterpart, Antonio Costa, both of whom welcomed the proposal. However, there was also criticism that it would be the first World Cup to be held simultaneously on two continents.
After various disputes between the government and the associations, it was finally agreed that the associations themselves would come to an agreement. For this reason, on March 5, 2022, the Royal Spanish Football Federation agreed with its Ukrainian counterpart to join the bid. Although Ukraine’s participation in the bid was announced last October, it is currently on hold due to the alleged corruption case against the Football Union of Ukraine (UFA) and its president Andriy Pavelko. The war-torn country was therefore officially replaced by Morocco.
#مونديال2030 .. ترشيح مغربي إسباني برتغالي pic.twitter.com/fxAh3N1ROH
— MEDI1TV (@Medi1TV) March 14, 2023
King Mohammed VI announced on Tuesday Morocco’s joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup. “I announce before your assembly that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided to submit a joint bid together with Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup,” King Mohamed VI said. in a statement on the occasion of the presentation of the African Football Confederation (CAF) Excellence Award for 2022 (CAF President’s Outstanding Achievement Award-2022) presented to the monarch in Kigali, Rwanda. The king stated that “this nomination will embody the supreme importance of unity around the best of this side or that and will testify to the concerted effort of genius, creativity and integration of experience and ability”.
In this message, read by the Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sport, Chakib Benmoussa, the sovereign made it clear that this joint bid, which sets a precedent in the history of football, will be entitled the unification of Africa Europe, between the north and south of the Mediterranean Sea and between the African continent and the Arabian and Euro-Mediterranean space world. The King added that this offer would also embody the supreme importance of unity between the best of both sides and would testify to the concerted efforts of genius, creativity and integration of experiences and skills.
Morocco made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Arab country to qualify for the quarter-finals of a World Cup. Moroccan football fans around the world celebrated the victory. 🇲🇦⚽️ pic.twitter.com/GCqxxBx774
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) December 10, 2022
Africa felicita a Marruecos
This choice is not accidental. Despite being an emerging country when it comes to football, Morocco is getting closer to the European powers that dominate the art of the game. The countless successes of the North African country in the past year bear witness to this. The Award of Excellence for the year 2022, which King Mohamed VI. presented by the Confederation of African Football, is the culmination of national football’s excellence at continental and intercontinental level.
On the sidelines of the Awards Ceremony (CAF) for the 2022 Prize Draw culminating in the Outstanding Achievements of 2022 saluted to His Majesty King Mohamed VI. and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, his award expressed delight at Morocco’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup. Mr Motsepe also expressed his gratitude to His Majesty the King on behalf of 54 African countries for his role in the development of football in Morocco, which has greatly contributed to the spread of the sport outside the Kingdom.
The following are Moroccan football’s key achievements for 2022: The Moroccan national team finished fourth at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, an unprecedented feat at Arab and African level. Wydad Sports Team won the African Champions League at the expense of Egypt’s Al-Ahly; Nahdet Berkane club won the African Confederations Cup against South Africa’s Orlando Pirates; For the first time there was a Moroccan representation in the African Super Cup, the Moroccan women’s national team finished as African runners-up and eliminated 11-time tournament winners Nigeria in the semi-finals; for the first time in history, the women’s national team qualified for the 2023 World Cup; the U-17 women’s national team qualified for the 2022 World Cup in India; and the FAR women’s team won their first African Champions League title.
Thanks to this crowning achievement, Morocco became the first country whose clubs simultaneously won both the men’s and women’s Africa Champions League titles.