As was expected, member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) promised to vote for Morocco’s 2026 bid on June 13 as it runs against the joint North American bid. The OIC joins the Arab league and the bulk of Africa in backing Morocco’s fifth bid to host the World Cup. Influential countries in Europe including France, Spain, Belgium and Russia have also promised to back Morocco’s bid. This support comes at a time US president Donald trump has threatened in tweets to retaliate against countries that do not vote for the joint American bid. To win the tournament Morocco would need the majority of the votes of the 205 football associations in the open vote.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 06, 2018 23:15 UTC