The 2030 World Cup, the royal vision for the Atlantic and Morocco-France relations seen by Pascal Boniface

On Wednesday, December 11, FIFA officially designated Morocco the host country of the 2030 World Cup, along with Spain and Portugal, during an extraordinary virtual congress. Met by Le360 on the sidelines of the 13th edition of the Atlantic Dialogues international conference which was held from December 12 to 14 in Rabat, Pascal Boniface, director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) and specialist in the geopolitics of sport, is convinced that the Kingdom should brilliantly rise to the challenge of organizing this high football event.

«Morocco has all the assets to successfully organize this World Cup, thanks to its infrastructure, its hotels and stadiums, in particular the future large stadium in Casablanca. which will be one of the largest stadiums in the world.he said. According to our interlocutor, the fact that Morocco is co-organizer and main host of the 2030 World Cup is reparation for the injustice that the Kingdom had suffered for the 2026 meeting.

«There is an injustice that Morocco could not organize the 2026 World Cup, because the country had presented a better file. This World Cup was stolen due to unacceptable pressure from Donald Trump who threatened to sanction countries that did not vote for the United States-Canada-Mexico trio.», recalled the expert. And to add: “It was the first time, in the awarding of a globalized sporting competition, that we saw the president of a candidate state exert this kind of pressure. Unfortunately, these countries have given in.»

According to Pascal Boniface, beyond the economic benefits of the numerous infrastructures planned by Morocco, this sporting event will above all allow it to strengthen its reputation. “The constructions will certainly bring in financial returns, but for a globalized sporting event, the media impact and in terms of image is much more important than the economic impact.“, he explained.

«The Royal Atlantic Initiative will have a positive impact for the countries of the Sahel”

Asked about the Royal Initiative aimed at facilitating access for Sahel countries to the Atlantic, he thinks that it “will necessarily have a positive impact for the countries of the Sahel, because it is an inclusive method which can promote their economic development».

Regarding the new course in relations between Morocco and France, the director of IRIS believes that “there were misunderstandings and mutual awkwardness which poisoned» relations between the two countries. “Everything was done on both sides to reflect on the consequences of this deterioration which was negative for both France and Morocco. Each country took a step towards the other and reason and feelings prevailed “, he added.

Read also: World Cup 2030: the socio-economic benefits expected for Morocco

«There was no reason for France and Morocco to be angry. The two peoples respect each other and share a common history, so it was quite unfortunate that this led to less peaceful relations.. Fortunately, there is a new beginning which is only the first step towards much more sustained and developed relations between the two countries.», concludes Pascal Boniface.