Former President of the Spanish Football Federation: Spain Would Not Have Won the Right to Host the World Cup Without Morocco
Express TV: Mustafa Filali
The former president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, revealed some behind-the-scenes insights related to the bid for hosting the 2030 World Cup, highlighting the significant role Morocco played in strengthening the chances of the joint bid.
Rubiales explained during his appearance on the program “El Chiringuito” that initial discussions within football bodies were based on the principle of presenting one candidate from each continent. In this context, he noted that European nations were unified in their approach, as the 55 federations under UEFA agreed to support a unified European bid to avoid internal competition.
He added that the European bid enjoyed strong backing within decision-making circles, especially with the presence of the Portuguese federation president as the vice-president of UEFA, which gave the bid a clear advantage. He was also confident that they would surpass the English bid in the first round of voting.
Rubiales stated that the entry of a powerful competitor with significant capabilities, referring to the Saudi bid, shifted the balance of power, making the alliance with Morocco a strategic choice to enhance their chances of winning the right to host the World Cup.
The speaker confirmed that Morocco holds substantial influence within continental and international football bodies, both within the African Football Confederation and through its presence in the FIFA Executive Committee, which gives it great ability to rally support from African federations.
He explained that combining the votes from Europe (55 votes) and Africa (55 votes) would raise the total to 110 votes, a number sufficient to guarantee victory in securing the rights to host the World Cup.
Rubiales also revealed that he personally led an international campaign to promote the bid, visiting around 50 countries worldwide alongside a team member, in efforts to convince football federations to support the candidature, despite limited initial resources compared to the English bid, which had a budget of 12 million pounds.
He concluded his remarks by confirming that he was sometimes in contact with government officials in Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to explain the importance of the project, emphasizing that he found the same willingness in Morocco to make the bid a success and highlighting the importance of leveraging the expertise of specialists in such major projects.
