Morocco head coach Herve Renard believes the North African country is more than capable of staging a successful World Cup in 2026.
Morocco is bidding to become the second African country to host a World Cup, following South Africa’s successful staging of the 2010 edition.
The 2018 African Nations Championship is currently being held in Morocco, with Renard playing an observational role for the locally-based team.
They have reached the final under the guidance of Jamal Sellami and will take on Nigeria tomorrow night in a battle for the trophy.
Renard, who guided the full national team to qualification for the 2018 World Cup, gave an interview to French sports website P2j.fr in which he outlined his current role and gave his backing to the 2026 bid.
“I’m not the coach of the local [Atlas] Lions. I’m here to supervise and watch with an outside eye the performance of the players selected by Jamal Sellami,” the Frenchman explained.
He added, “I am convinced that Morocco can win the organisation of the 2026 World Cup. I have been here for two years and I can assure you that the kingdom has all the means to host such a competition.”
As for the prospect of Renard still being charge of Morocco for 2026, he said coaches don’t have the luxury of planning that far into the future.
“It’s still far, a reporter asked me again, so I said to him: you know, 2026, for a coach, it’s an eternity (laughs).
“For now, we will focus on 2018. In my case, I’m there or not, I hope Morocco will get the organisation in 2026.
“If they want to keep me there, I would not be against it, but it seems so far [away]!”