Morocco, after five consecutive bids (1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2016), finally announced on 14 March 2023 that King Mohammed VI of Morocco will join the Spain-Portugal bid as co-host. The Prime Ministers of Spain and Portugal both welcomed Morocco’s decision to join the joint bid.  And on 4 October 2023, the FIFA Council unanimously approved Spain, Portugal and Morocco as the sole bids for the event. It was undoubtedly a great success for the beautiful African country which has a population of 36,828,330. And the 5^th strongest economy in Africa which allows it to exert significant influence both on the continent and in the Arab world. And the most important thing is that its King Mohammed VI has implemented an ambitious plan for the complete reform and upgrading of the country with a horizon of 2040.

So on the occasion of the assignment by FIFA to the beautiful Morocco to host part of the final phase of the 2030 World Cup (together with Spain and Portugal) we considered that there is no one more competent to speak to us  than His Excellency the Ambassador of his country to Greece, Mohamed Sbihi.

Mr. Sbihi on June 16, 2009 received the rank of Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit of Ivory Coast, a great distinction. He has studied Economics, Political Sciences and Strategic Intelligence. He graduated from the National School of Public Administration in Rabat. He received a Master of Sciences from the University of Quebec, has trained in Paris in Strategic Management as well as at the Institute of Advanced National Defense Studies again in the French capital. He held high level positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the passed through several countries where he held diplomatic posts .  Since January 19, 2022, he has been the Ambassador of his country to Greece and Cyprus. Mr. Sbihi has  two children.

Ladies and gentlemen, His Excellency Mr. Sbihi speaks exclusively to Manos Staramopoulos editor-in-chief of Discoveryfootball.com:

DF: What are the main preparations being made for the hosting of the 2030 World Cup in Morocco?

R/: “First of all, I must tell you that the Government has already implemented the “upgrading of the country” program, which is a short-term program lasting 15 years until 2040 . So our goal is not only to be ready for the world’s top football tournament, but to have also contributed to a better life and environment for our people and then... We want to have done enough positive things to leave a legacy for our children.”

DF: Tell us more about what exactly this plan is?

“We want all cities to be connected first of all through a more developed railways network  to our airports and also for fans who will go to the stadiums to have easy access via bus routes and to be able to leave in their cars after the end of each match without coming from the same direction. They will go to the stadium from somewhere else and leave from somewhere else. In this way, traffic congestion will not be created, which is observed in many places. Then we proceed to improve  even national roads so that visitors but of course also the residents of our country can move much more comfortably.

We also have trains with the high speeds so that every citizen or fan can reach the stadium in one hour at most, if they are in another city, without any problems. Here I must point out that our goal is also to connect all cities with ultra-modern high-speed trains to facilitate every citizen - sports fan".

 From 25  to 30 airports

His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Sbihi adds: “At the moment, Morocco has  25 internationals  airports. We, who want and carefully study our every move, have a goal, since we find that year by year the number of people visiting our country is increasing more and more, to increase these airports to 30. I repeat, these plans belong to the 2040 plan. Then we must mention that Morocco ranked 32^nd in the world in terms of roads. Already in 2014, it began the construction of the first high-speed railway system in Africa connecting the cities of Tangier and Casablanca. In fact, this project was inaugurated in 2018 by King Mohammed VI  and which lasted (design and construction) about 10 years.

I must point out here that the project was exclusively owned by the Moroccan national railway company ONCF. In fact, this is the first phase of what is being planned and the high-speed railway network with a total length of 1,500 kilometers will reach, as everyone understands, to cover all regions of the country. Now, in fact, an extension of the line to Marrakech is planned, which will reach in 1 hour and 10 minutes from Casablanca , while in Tangier in exactly one hour. Then Morocco has a national road network (national, provincial and municipal roads) covering a distance of 56,986 km as well as 1808 km of highways which are constantly expanding. We must also not forget that Morocco plays an important role in Africa. It has the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean. Tanger-Med (ranked 18th globally, handling capacity of over 9 million containers. Located in the Tangier Free Economic Zone, it serves as a transit hub for Africa and the world.”

 Top priority

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Sbihi continues on infrastructure: “The development of modern infrastructure, such as ports, airports and rail links, is a top government priority. To meet growing domestic demand, the Moroccan government invested more than $15 billion from 2010 to 2015 in upgrading its basic infrastructure. With forecasts showing that Morocco’s energy requirements will increase by 6% annually until 2050, a new law has been passed encouraging Moroccans to seek ways to diversify energy supply, including more renewable energy sources (hydro green). A large photovoltaic projects has already been built, covering a large area, for one of them, let's say the size of Thessaloniki, which has a population of 500,000. The country's aim is to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and export electricity to Europe.”

DF: Your Excellency, tell us a little about the education sector in your beautiful country?

R/: “First of all, I must tell you that education in Morocco is free and compulsory up to 16 . From there, we invest a lot in the sector. Morocco has over 300 professional training public centers  and 40 universities, institutes of higher education, and polytechnics scattered in urban centers throughout the country. Its leading institutions include Mohammed V University in Rabat, the country's largest university. The Hassan II Agricultural and Veterinary Institute in Rabat, which conducts research in cultural specialties, and Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, the first English-speaking university in Northwest Africa, which was inaugurated in 1995 with contributions from Saudi Arabia and the United States. Art and music festivals are held throughout the country during all the year , including the World Festival of Sacred Music in Fez. Then the University of al-Kuaraouine, founded by Fatima al-Fihri in the city of Fes  in 859 as a madrasa, is considered by  UNESCO, to be the “oldest university in the world”.

The flaghip of our higher education is the Mohammed VI University with its branch of polytechnic which is associated with several other world renowned technology centers .

DF: In terms of stadiums, how are things progressing?

“Look. In March 2025, the “Prince Moulay Abdallah” stadium in Rabat, which was demolished  a year ago, will be ready. And yet, in this period, that is, from December 2023 until now, it is almost completely ready. In fact, on March 24, the inauguration will take place with a match against Tanzania for the African Cup of Nations. It will probably be inaugurated by high level representatives. Then , work began on the Casablanca stadium, which will have a capacity of 115,000 seats.”

DF: How have you progressed so quickly in the construction of a new stadium, which will have a capacity of 68,700 seats, and how much has it cost ?

R/: “The work does not stop at all. We have 3 shifts of 8 hours each, so it is clear that we are progressing at a very fast pace. The cost of the stadium will reach 250 million euros and it will be a complex with all the necessary stadiums. There will be 4 different parking lots in order to accommodate the first 4,000 cars and the other three 15,000. Also next door there is an Olympic stadium with a capacity of 21.000 seats".

DF: So like in Qatar, you also have workers from third countries (Pakistan, India, etc.) who work feverishly ?

R/: “Not at all. Morocco  use .only  Moroccans and they work. We are not a big economy , but not a small one either. Morocco has population of  36 million  within the state and another 4 million who are scattered in various other countries. So we do not need to take from elsewhere. For this purpose, so that the projects can proceed quickly, we have created a Special Committee  chaired by Mr. Lekjaa (he is also the president of the football federation), which makes immediate decisions that move quickly.”

The remaining stadiums will have a seats capacity: Fes (renovation) 35.468, Tangier (renovation) 75.600, Marrakech (renovation) 41.245, Casablanca (renovation) 45.000 and Agadir (renovation) 41.144., Rabat with 4 rebuilding stadiums Moulay Abdallah 69.500, Moulay Al Hassan 22.000, Olympic Stadium 21.000 and finally Stade Al Barid 18.000 and finally a new building in Benslimane Hassan II New Stadium with 115.000 seats, the hugest in the world.