
Morocco's newly unveiled football World Cup logo, which they will be using for their 2026 bid, has come under criticism for appearing somewhat under-designed.
The North African nation is making its fifth bid to host Fifa's flagship tournament, competing with a joint bid from Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
Bid chairman Moulay Hafid Elalamy said at the launch, Tuesday:
Morocco 2026 will showcase the best of football, at the heart of the world.
Fouzi Lekjaa (L), President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Moulay Hafid Elalamy (C), chairman of the Moroccan Committee bidding for the 2026 World Cup, and Moroccan Youth and Sport Minister Rachid Talbi Alami (R) give a press conference in Casablanca on 23 January 2018, presenting their country's pitch to host the 2026 competition. (Picture: FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images)
We promise to stage a tournament overflowing with real passion and to celebrate the values of unity and peace.
A World Cup in Morocco will deliver commercial success and leave a long-lasting legacy and if we win the honour of hosting we believe the winners will be football, the young people of our nation, Africa and the world.
Check out the lens flares in the video logo unveiling:
#THELAUNCH Welcome to the official English language Twitter account of the Moroccan bid for the 2026 FIFA World C… https://t.co/RZqD9pfHu5— Morocco 2026 (@Morocco 2026) 1516704103
Some said the logo was hastily designed:
@Morocco2026_EN https://t.co/jrVKCbX7ts— WASSIME (@WASSIME) 1516728336
About time. Critics against the bid and supporters of the North American one have been pointing to a lack of this a… https://t.co/dXWsM50Lvu— Gary Al-Smith (@Gary Al-Smith) 1516712172
Five months after announcing it would bid for the 2026 World Cup, and five months before the vote to award it, Moro… https://t.co/avtxoO57HG— Andrew Das (@Andrew Das) 1516129670
Morocco 2026 unveil bid team and logo with just over four months until FIFA select World Cup host… https://t.co/7QsBFPMalr— Akif Malik 🏅 (@Akif Malik 🏅) 1516786249
@mnsfho @Morocco2026_EN 😂 😂 😂 😂 https://t.co/D6eAcDwgNh— Yasser ag 🗽 (@Yasser ag 🗽) 1516727679
The World Cup has only been hosted once before in Africa, in the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The BBC reports that Rachid Talbi El Alami, Morocco's minister of youth and sports, said that the country's infrastructure was ready to cope with the 48 teams that would make up the 2026 finals.
Morocco has made rapid progress since 2003 - in sport, infrastructure, hotels, airports, motorways and public transport networks.