A recent report by The New York Times’ The Athletic said that the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final between Morocco and Senegal has not damaged FIFA’s confidence in Morocco as a host ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which the kingdom will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The report stressed that “Morocco’s AFCON hosting has endorsed, not undermined, its credentials ahead of what will be its biggest sporting moment.”
While FIFA President Gianni Infantino strongly condemned the incidents that occurred during the final, The Athletic noted that his criticism followed earlier remarks in which he congratulated Senegal and praised Morocco as “exceptional hosts who staged a fantastic tournament.”
The outlet highlighted Morocco’s progress in tournament organization, transport infrastructure and accommodation capacity during AFCON.
Morocco has also strengthened its ties with FIFA in recent years, having hosted the final African World Cup qualifiers in October and set to host the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup annually until 2028.
According to the report, the security issues witnessed during the AFCON final underscore lessons to be learned but do not undermine Morocco’s credibility as a future World Cup host. It noted that FIFA’s own security teams will oversee operations across all three host countries during the 2030 tournament.
Earlier this week, Moroccan Budget Minister and Royal Moroccan Football Federation President Fouzi Lekjaa said that hosting AFCON demonstrated Morocco’s growing organizational capacity and marked a key milestone on the path to co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
Lekjaa said Morocco has already launched major infrastructure and logistics projects to prepare for the event, despite global geopolitical uncertainty that continues to affect economic forecasts.
He stressed that the scale of the 2030 World Cup will require close coordination and a collective mobilization of expertise across the three host nations.
Lekjaa added that the tournament will present significant logistical, mobility and security challenges, particularly in managing the movement of millions of fans, teams and official delegations.
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