Morocco expresses concerns over transparency of World Cup bid

RABAT, April 1 (Xinhua)-- Morocco has expressed concerns over "fairness" and "transparency" of the bidding procedure to host FIFA 2026 World Cup, local media reported on Sunday.

In a letter to FIFA presidency, the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF) said it "cannot accept that FIFA introduced substantial differences at a critical late stage in the proceedings," the report said.

The Moroccan outrage came after the release of the detailed documents on hosting the 2026 World Cup by FIFA this week.

Under the scoring system, FIFA could disqualify a bid if it does not receive a total of 2 out of 5 grading note, or "minimum requirements met/sufficient," three days before the expected vote on June 13 in Moscow.

The Moroccan bidding officials said the conditions included in the published documents were not part of the original bid requirements ratified by the FIFA Council last October.

"The scoring system adds several new technical criteria," the same source pointed out. "These elements were never conveyed to the FRMF during the preparation of the bid book."

Morocco requested the FIFA president to personally respect the rules and suspend the scoring system "in order to guarantee a just and transparent procedure," it said.

"It is difficult in a race when the referee or judge is not impartial," Morocco's bid campaign head Moulay Hafid Elalamy said in a statement to the press earlier this week.

This is Morocco's fifth bid to host the World Cup, after their losses for the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 editions of the event.

Morocco is competing with a joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada. Enditem