World Cup 2026: Morocco confirms it will bid to host tournament

The Moroccan Football Federation has announced it will bid to host the 2026 World Cup.

The deadline for countries to express their intention to bid to host the tournament is Friday, at which point Fifa will confirm the bidders.

The United States, Canada and Mexico announced in April that they intend to put forward a joint bid.

The World Cup has only been hosted once in Africa - in South Africa in 2010 - and this will be Morocco's fifth bid.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) gave its backing to a Moroccan bid in July.

A total of 48 teams, rather than the current 32, will compete at an expanded tournament in 2026 after changes announced by Fifa earlier this year.

The decision on who will host event will be made in 2020. 

Fifa's rotational hosting policy means Africa is one of four confederations that can bid to host the 2026 finals as Europe (Russia 2018) and Asia (Qatar 2022) cannot be considered.

BBC