European deputies to 'sabotage' Morocco's WC bid over Western Sahara

According to Spanish media, a group of European deputies are determined to "sabotage" Morocco-Spain-Portugal's bid for World Cup 2030 if Rabat decides to host matches in Western Sahara.

"The World Cup cannot contribute to legitimising an illegal occupation," reads a letter addressed to FIFA's head Gianni Infantino, published in Spanish media El Confidential on Monday.

Thirty MEPs from five parliamentary groups have signed the letter including eight leftist Spanish MEPs. No member of the leftist party of People (PP), the ruling majority in Spain, was among the signatory.

Candidate countries, including Morocco, have yet to announce the suggested venues for the World Cup matches.

However, local press in Morocco have already predicted that the stadium under construction in Dakhla in Western Sahara will be Rabat's first choice to host the African Cup of Nations in 2025 and, five years later, the World Cup if it wins the bid.

The group of European politicians argues that "holding international events such as football matches in occupied territories could violate international law since it would contravene the obligations of the occupying power to not to exploit the resources and the population of the occupied territory," added the letter.

While Morocco considers the Western Sahara region its own, Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks independence. The UN recognises neither sovereignty over the disputed territory.

On 14 March, a royal letter read by Morocco's Sports Minister Chakib Benmoussa announced, at the CAF President Outstanding Achievement Awards Ceremony, Rabat's participation in the first European-African bid in football history. 

This bid marks Morocco's sixth attempt to host the competition. The North African kingdom submitted a bid every time since it became eligible in 1994.

The CAF Executive Committee, chaired by South African Patrice Motsepe, has unanimously approved support for the Kingdom of Morocco's bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.

Rabat was reportedly in talks with the Iberian nations for a while but had never been officially included in the bid. 

The Spanish-Moroccan political reconciliation last year has reportedly played a key role in easing the talks. 

Last October, Ukraine said it would team up with Spain and Portugal in a joint bid, but Morocco's announcement suggests it will no longer be part of the process. 

French sports media L'équipe announced on 5 July that Spain and Portugal's final bid for the World Cup would include Ukraine and Morocco. 

Spanish media said Ukraine's alleged comeback to the bid displeases the Moroccan authorities, mainly because it took away from the charm of the North African Kingdom's cooperation with its European neighbours after settling several historical and political conflicts in the last years.

Also, cooperation with Kyiv will diminish Rabat's long-standing neutrality in the Russian-Ukranian war.

"The candidacy on which we continue to work is tripartite. We have never been told about a fourth country," sources related to Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), told the Moroccan website Le Desk.

With or without Ukraine, FIFA will decide which countries will host the 2030 World Cup next year. Saudi Arabia's bid and Egypt and Greece's seem to be fading. 

The competition is expected to be between the Southern Cone of Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay) and the Iberians, with Morocco and, perhaps, Ukraine.