The United States-led bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is in danger of losing out on hosting the tournament in favor of Morocco’s bid, ESPN’s Sam Borden reported Wednesday.
High-ranking FIFA executives told Borden that Morocco’s big is not only gaining ground in terms of votes, but potentially having more votes than the bid comprised of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The reasons for Morocco’s surge, according to Borden’s sources, is a combination of reasons related and unrelated to soccer, including actions and comments made by President Donald Trump, and federations being upset about the American influence in the “FIFAgate” corruption investigation and its exposing of federation officials, especially in South America.
One official told Borden Morocco has gained the support of South America and most of Asia, along with its home continent, Africa, which would provide the 104 votes needed to win the bid.
The announcement of the 2026 World Cup host(s) is expected for June 13, the day before the opening match of the 2018 World Cup in Moscow.