Potential 2026 WC Hosts (Update: Morocco Sole Challenger to CONCACAF Bid)

"You can't ask a country to change its visa process every time it hosts a competition."

Uh, yeah, I think you can. Or to put it a different way, a country can cling to any sort of discriminatory procedures it likes, but if it does not pledge to treat the border entry of citizens of the qualifying countries all more or less the same, that should be a deal breaker for the rest of the world as far as allowing them to host.

Take Qatar and Israel. I realize that the question probably didn't come up too much when the Qatar bid was being considered as the Israeli team hasn't qualified for the World Cup in years, but should Israel qualify for WC 2022, do you really think that all or most of the Israeli fans will be barred from entering Qatar? Is there any recent precedent for that? I think it would be a catastrophe for FIFA and the sport.

Moreover, Iran qualifying for WC 2026 in the US is an even more likely scenario. I would hope that the US government would provide assurances that no citizens of teams that have qualified for the Cup be barred or hindered in any significant way from attending the matches, and if the US refused to provide those assurances, they would not be selected as hosts.

 

The fact those countries qualify or not, for FIFA doesn't matter.

What FIFA is concerned about, is that when the WC actually takes place, those countries hosting the tournament should have free travel issues for all fans of the world assisting to it, the same. No restrictions of any kind, to all fans. So when bidding for the tournament, FIFA asks the local committee in charge of the organization, that they must have a written guarantee signed by their local government and authorities, that nothing that they do, is going to affect FIFA's interests related to the event (this written guarantee, not only concerns traveling fans, but also incomes, taxes and local restrictions). Without that signature, the bid to host is an impossibility to pass on.

 

That is simply not realistic. Ever. It's one thing to complain about a blanket ban but even then one has to admit that every country employs discriminatory practices in its visa granting process. It has always happened. It will always happen. No sporting event overrides this. Not to mention sometimes there is a valid security concern. Equal access to all is an utopian concept. Blanket bans don't look great - agreed- but are not a deal breaker in my opinion if they are confined to one or two participants. Athletes and delegation excluded of course.

Israeli athletes have traveled to Qatar for competitions in volleyball, tennis and swimming. The overall travel ban wasn't lifted and I don't see it being lifted either in the unlikely event that Israel qualifies for Qatar 2022.

 

Many political hassles are avoided for the fact of Israel not being able to field a decent 11, right?

 

A couple of minutes of web browsing suggests you are wrong.

"The United States would have to grant entry to players, officials and fans from any country that qualified if it won the right to host the 2026 World Cup finals, soccer body FIFA said on Thursday."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-fifa-summit-trump-idUSKBN16G255

"“It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions as well, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” Infantino said, according to the Associated Press." (Emphasis in original quote).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fifa-world-cup-us-bid-travel-ban_us_58c17e75e4b054a0ea68924c

"The Russian State Duma, the lower legislative house, has given assent to a bill, which will allow fans holding valid tickets for any match in the FIFA World Cup 2018 to be hosted in Russia, to gain entry into Russia without a visa. "

https://www.y-axis.com/news/russia-allow-fans-tickets-entry-free/

Perhaps these travel restriction exceptions will be rejected in the case of your precious Qatar World Cup, which should be moved elsewhere for a lot of other reasons, although that is a different thread.

 

The quotes I've seen (and re-posted, above), suggest that with respect to granting border entry to fans, it does matter if their team has qualified.

 

Which nationality was banned from traveling to Brazil for the World Cup?

 

More Infantino quotes from your links:

It doesn't look like this is a done deal for fans/supporters and I don't expect it to be in the final version once FIFA appreciates the complexity of political conflict and international travel. Otherwise good luck looking for hosts. Some countries may be flexible when it comes to relaxing their rules for a sporting event but don't expect that from the more developed democracies. You are not going to see the likes of the US, Australia or the UK explain to their citizens that they are compromising security for a sports event.

None to my knowledge. But Brazil too has its pecking order when granting access. For example, someone from Morocco enjoys the privilege of visa free travel to Brazil but a US citizen has to apply for a visa at the Brazilian embassy in advance. That's because Brazil maintains a fully reciprocal visa policy.

The point is, access is never equal.

 

There is a difference between things being a bit harder for some and outright impossible.

 

Visa procedures range from a bit harder to nearly impossible. Sometimes the hurdles are so high it approaches blanket ban territory. Look, I don't like it either when blanket bans are applied but understand the underlying political realities. One or two blanket bans are not a deal breaker out of 48 teams. At least in my opinion.

Sometimes not even all the athletes make it. I remember numerous examples of weakened clubs traveling to the US in the CONCACAF Champions League because some of their players didn't get a visa. These scenarios have a direct impact on what happens on the field.

No, the CCL is not the World Cup but it is still the confederation's flagship club competition.

 

We don't have any particular bans on people from different nations coming in but its true that it is harder to get a visa for citizens of particular nations. Usually you have to prove that you have a return ticket and also have sufficient means to support yourself whilst in the country. Lots of people have visa exemptions where they can gain entry on arrival without a pre purchased visa, but if they show up with no money and no return ticket they could still get refused. I think this is typical of most western nations.

 

"We are now in the process of defining the bid requirements"

"In the world there are certainly many countries who have bans, travel bans, visa requirements and so on and so forth"

I don't see how either of those rather vague comments in any way offsets the following pretty clear statement from Infantino:

"“It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions as well, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” Infantino said, according to the Associated Press."

Moreover, you are now saying, "It doesn't look like this is a done deal for fans/supporters and I don't expect it to be in the final version once FIFA appreciates the complexity of political conflict and international travel."
That is pretty far from your original comment: "It's one thing to complain about a blanket ban but even then one has to admit that every country employs discriminatory practices in its visa granting process. It has always happened. It will always happen. No sporting event overrides this." (emphasis added).

"Otherwise good luck looking for hosts".

Remind me of the World Cups that couldn't be held because there was a shortage of countries willing to host.

"You are not going to see the likes of the US, Australia or the UK explain to their citizens that they are compromising security for a sports event."

Didn't the UK just hold a pretty big sporting event less than five years ago? Not that long after the London bombings?And I don't recall hearing of the citizens of any foreign countries being summarily excluded from the Olympics by the UK border authorities.

The fact that the Russians, of all people, are willing to admit foreigners without visas as long as they are ticket holders certainly suggests that countries can be flexible on this question, particularly when we are talking about a once in a generation sporting event such as hosting the World Cup.

 

Yes, agreed. But as you point out, it's not a blanket ban on people of a particular nationality, but rather putting nationality-neutral requirements (having sufficient means of support etc) on individuals. As a practical matter, I think the probability of the US getting the votes to host '26 if country-specific bans are in effect leading up to the vote is very low.

 

Unless I am mistaken Infantino is talking about new, more stringent bidding requirements starting with the 2026 World Cup. So this doesn't apply to previous editions including Russia and Qatar. If Russia wants to relax its visa rules then great. An authoritarian government can take that decision without following the due process seen in other countries.

Look, if you want to draw a red line at blanket travel bans then I understand that. But don't argue for equal access because that is simply not feasible. You mention the UK Olympics. I am quite confident in saying that your average yousef (joe) in Syria, Iraq or Libya would right now struggle getting a tourist visa. So it's not a travel ban per se but nevertheless a very high hurdle.

Visa requirements are nationality-neutral in name only. Yes, everyone has to submit the same information but the assessment will differ widely depending on the nationality of the applicant. For example, someone from Pakistan will be looked at very differently compared to a UAE or Qatar citizen. These other standards are opaque and not public information. One of my former Indian colleagues fulfilled all the basic requirements for a Canadian visa (financial means etc) but was rejected in the end. The Canadian government of course didn't give any details but single Indian women have been known to be rejected. This is a clear example of nationality-biased vetting.

Living in Dubai, surrounded by nationalities that do not enjoy visa free travel to most developed countries, has taught me that we (Westerners) take easy travel for granted. Access is never equal and FIFA can not demand that it is.

 

Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The Bureau of the FIFA Council – comprised of the FIFA President and the presidents of each of the six confederations – convened this Thursday at the Home of FIFA in Zurich and agreed on a proposed slot allocation for the FIFA World Cup as of the 2026 edition.

The recommendation will now be submitted for the ratification of the FIFA Council, whose next meeting is scheduled for 9 May in Manama, Bahrain, two days prior to the 67th FIFA Congress.

After 10 January, when the FIFA Council unanimously decided on expanding the FIFA World Cup to a 48-team competition, FIFA, the confederations and the member associations engaged in a consultation process, which resulted in the proposal recommended by the Bureau of the Council. According to this proposal, the split of direct berths is as follows:

Slot allocation*

AFC: 8 direct slots
CAF: 9 direct slots
CONCACAF: 6 direct slots
CONMEBOL: 6 direct slots
OFC: 1 direct slot
UEFA: 16 direct slots
* The host country would also automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and its slot would be taken from the quota of its confederation. In the event of co-hosting, the number of host countries to qualify automatically would be decided by the FIFA Council.

Play-off tournament for two remaining slots

The above allocation accounts for 46 of the 48 participating teams. The proposal reviewed by the Bureau of the Council includes a play-off tournament involving six teams to decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths:

One team per confederation with the exception of UEFA + one additional team from the confederation of the host country;

Two teams to be seeded based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. The seeded teams will play for a FIFA World Cup berth against the winners of the first two knockout games involving the four unseeded teams;

Tournament to be played in the host country(ies) and to be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup;

Existing play-off window of November 2025 suggested as tentative date for the 2026 edition.

 

So in 2026 it's basically CAF, CONCACAF, OFC or CONMEBOL.
So we're talking about teams like Curacao, Paraguay, Algeria, Syria...

Although honestly I think CONCACAF will host 2026. If I were a betting man I would say it's definitely going to be Canada. Mexico also a possibility (but they've hosted it twice already)? USA may be no go under Trump.

CAF - I can't see any African country realistically entering into consideration. North Africa is still unstable, Nigeria has major budget issues, no other African country can cope... Morocco I guess is the most stable and they will surely submit a bid for the nth time (and they have 9 30,000+ stadiums). That said the 2015 ANC cancellation really hurts their chances.

CONMEBOL - Will anyone want to after the Brasil World Cup? I know Colombia is interested, They have 8 30,000+ stadiums, so why not?

OFC - New Zealand as the only realistic option.They have six 30000+ stadiums, but would need to expand or build five more...

 

It could be North America or Australia.

I seriously doubt that any African country has any chances.

Conmebol is pushing for Agentina Uruguay 2030.

 

Can't be Australia they are in AFC, who are ineligible.

 

Which is sad and ridiculous since a) they are literally on the other side of the world from Qatar (and Russia for that matter), b) who wouldn't want to go there and to NZ? and c) they've never hosted before.

Canada stadiums are worse than NZ's. Granted the weather is not great in NZ in June.

 

I would love Australia and NZ world cup

 

FIFA was trying to broker a combo of all three last year
http://www.firstpost.com/sports/nor...eam-fifa-world-cup-says-concacaf-3035614.html

 

The Caribbean Football Union, who represent 31 of CONCACAF's 41 national associations, are considering breaking away and forming a seventh FIFA confederation.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ix-timepieces-went-missing.html#ixzz4VTbtXB8z
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

@EPJr

We already have threads discussing the Caribbean break-away rumor as well as the 2026 allocation. This thread is purely about the hosting aspect.

 

CAF President Ahmad puts his backing behind Morocco to lead joint 2026 World Cup bid