Six years left The FIFA World Cup is organized by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. but the road seems difficult. To the initial insults – Morocco’s unilateral application to join the Iberian candidacy or promotion Rabat before the final reward, other episodes accumulated. The latest is the leakage of the candidate’s logo and slogan across the strait. “Yalla Vamos 2030″a motto in which Arabic comes first, before “Vamos”, common to Spanish and Portuguese.

Spain, Portugal and Morocco work in harmony

A series of complaints that, according to some, demonstrate Morocco’s attempts to monopolize and dominate the World Cup organized by Madrid and Lisbon and which Rabat joined in injury time under the pretext that corruption scandals ruled out the entry of a third country into the federation. initially in dispute, Ukraine. A desire for fame that the Spanish Football Federation does not consider as such. “There is no discomfort. Spain, Portugal and Morocco work in harmony,” they note. Independent institution sources.

Problems with the “nature” of the Moroccan regime

However, they admit that there is some discomfort, which they attribute to the very nature of Morocco, a dictatorship in which nothing happens without the orders and consent of King Mohammed VI and Maisen, a luxurious court that governs the country during the long absence of the monarch. These differences are explained, for example, by statements published in Morocco attributing the achievement of the World Cup to the leadership and clairvoyance of Mohammed VI, speaking in a language and in a production that has surprised and disturbed on European soil.

In yet another fight, there was the logo of the candidate that will define the first years from the final appointment in December 2024 until the final choice by FIFA. The Moroccan press published an emblem using the colors of the three countries and the motto “Yalla Vamos 2030.” The Federation downplays this fact. They attribute this procedure to the Moroccan trademark authority, which made its registration public, which was later reported by local media.

Neither the Spanish nor the Portuguese federation presented the logo to the society, although the Spanish federation was responsible for its registration with the competent authorities of the European Union. They don’t plan to do this either. They do not reveal the nationality of the company responsible for designing the logo, but indicate that they belong to one of the three participating countries. The above-mentioned sources clarify that the committee created by the three federations approved the motto in which “Vamos” in Arabic precedes the common word in Portuguese and Spanish, since it works better phonetically. In Spanish, they add, this can be understood as “And here we go.”

They also explain, according to alphabetical order in English, the official name of the candidacy, with Morocco ranked first, followed by Portugal and Spain. The Federation ensures smooth communication between the three countries and holds weekly meetings at which the publication of press releases is agreed upon on dates that the Maghreb Federation does not violate.

Difficult card question

The tripartite candidacy has a short but checkered history. In October, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fauzi Lakjaa, expressed his desire for the World Cup final to be held at Casablanca’s new stadium. Some of the statements that sources consulted with the newspaper consider to be “taken out of context.” It is not even known which stadiums each country will provide. Morocco, while trying to achieve international recognition, will also not choose to include sites in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, although the organization’s strict criteria – the number of hotels or the presence of a nearby international airport – may hinder Moroccan aspirations.

Another taboo topic at the moment is the card that will accompany the dossier the candidate must submit to FIFA next June. Morocco will try to include cartography confirming the occupation of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that Rabat has occupied since 1975 and which, according to international law, is the last African territory to be decolonized.

Previous complaints

This is not the first time that the Moroccan regime has attempted to monopolize a World Cup bid, calling into question its true intentions. Last October, Mohamed VI anticipated FIFA’s own message and the reaction of Spain and Portugal, countries that had put forward their candidacy from the outset. His Majesty King Mohamed VI, may God help him, has the great pleasure of announcing to the Moroccan people that the FIFA Council has just unanimously selected the Morocco-Spain-Portugal file as the sole candidate to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. “, said a statement from the office of the Moroccan royal family, published in the afternoon, minutes before the official announcement from FIFA.

In March, when Morocco joined the candidacy, the Alawite monarch also announced it for the first time during the presentation of the award of excellence from the African Football Confederation at a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda. Contacted IndependentThe federations of Spain and Portugal then refused to explain the reasons why Morocco became a sensation, followed by 24 hours of silence in Lisbon and Madrid. The joint statement of the Spanish-Portuguese federations was not published until 18:00 the day after the Moroccan statement, with a delay of more than 24 hours and hours after Antonia Costa and Pedro Sánchez assessed the movement following the Spanish-Portuguese summit held in Lanzarote .

In recent months, Morocco’s official press has speculated that, as a result of the Rubiales affair and given the vicissitudes at the helm of the Spanish federation, Morocco will have a greater say in the organization of the World Cup, which will be held in Rabat. is trying to sell it as an international bid by the kingdom, which has intensified its repression of activists and human rights defenders and has maintained its occupation of Western Sahara, the last territory in Africa to be decolonized, since 1975.