BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
As it was in the Qatar 2022 qualifiers, the Kingdom of Morocco will again host several African World Cup 2026 qualifying matches.
This is a direct result of Morocco heavily investing on football infrastructures to host prestigious events such that are lacking in many African countries.
As a starter, eight of the 13 duels in the Match Day 1 of the World Cup qualifiers will be hosted by Morocco.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation FRMF) in a statement announced it will be hosting World Cup qualifiers involving Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau and also that of Niger Republic and Tanzania.
Other duels include Chad versus Madagascar, Somalia versus Uganda and Ethiopia versus Burkina Faso.
It was in similar vein that Morocco had a ‘Festival of World Cup qualifying matches’ in 2021 when within a period of five days in a row, the Kingdom hosted a series of seven World Cup qualifying matches involving 10 countries including Nigeria that of Liberia versus Liberia.
According to a time table released by the FRMF, the World Cup fixtures will run thus:
- Nov.15: Ethiopia vs Sierra Leone at El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida
- Nov. 16: Morocco vs Eritrea at Le Grand Stade Agadir
- Nov. 17: Burkina Faso vs Guinea Bissau at Marrakech Grand Stadium
- Nov. 17: Guinea vs Uganda at Berkane Municipal Stadium, Berkan
- Nov. 18: Niger vs Tanzania at Marrakech Grand Stadium
- Nov. 20: Chad vs. Madagascar at Honneur Stadium, Oujda
- Nov. 21: Somalia vs. Uganda at Berkane Municipal Stadium, Berkan
- Nov. 21: Ethiopia vs. Burkina Faso at Marrakech Grand Stadium
- Nov. 21: Sao Tome and Principe vs Namibia at Le Grand Stade Agadir
Under the cooperation partnership, FRMF said it agreed to the request of several African national teams to hold their World Cup qualifiers in Morocco.
Morocco has been hosting several prestigious football events such as the 2023 Club World Cup, with both the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA commending the country’s sports infrastructure.
The latest milestone was FIFA’s decision to declare Morocco as one of the hosts for World Cup 2030, along with Portugal and Spain.
Morocco is also set to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
In October, FIFA awarded the hosting rights to Morocco, Portugal, and Spain as their joint bid was the sole candidate in the running for the hosting rights of the competition.
Following the decision, CAF celebrated the news, stressing that the decision will see Morocco become only the second Africa country to ever stage a World Cup after South Africa in 2010.
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