North America has a late challenge from North Africa in the contest to host the 2026 World Cup as Morocco announced it will also bid for the tournament on Friday.
Morocco's last-minute move, coming on FIFA's deadline day, takes on the joint bid between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Morocco formally launched its bid and sent relevant documents to FIFA, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation said in a brief two-sentence statement. It's the North African kingdom's fifth attempt at hosting the World Cup.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico launched their joint bid in April and hoped to be awarded the World Cup unchallenged, with no other bids seemingly on the horizon.