Morocco’s official proposal to host the 2026 World Cup highlights the country’s low murder rate and its “very low gun circulation” — a not-too-subtle dig at a rival bid led by the United States, which is campaigning for the tournament amid a roiling national discussion about gun safety.
“Morocco is one of the world’s safest countries,” the Morocco bid declares in the executive summary of its bid, which emphasizes broad concepts like passion and sustainability but conspicuously avoids direct mention of the elephant hiding in plain sight: a minimum price tag of $15.8 billion for roads, railways and at least nine new stadiums.