Morocco to rival North American bid to host 2026 World Cup

Morocco has emerged as the only nation willing to compete with a joint North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup.

The African country launched a bid to host the competition Friday shortly before FIFA's self-imposed deadline for interested nations, the world football governing body confirmed.

A on statement on Morocco's website, as translated by Reuters, read: "The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has officially submitted its candidacy on Friday, August 11, 2017 to organise the World Cup in 2026.

"The Federation submitted its application to the relevant committees of the Federation Internationale de Football Association - FIFA - to host this global event."

A joint bid by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which was announced in April, is considered the favourite to win the rights to host the first ever World Cup featuring 48 teams.

Morocco and the United States-led campaigns are now responsible for completing registration documents before submitting their respective bid books to FIFA by March 2018.

The FIFA Council will then evaluate each bid before the FIFA Congress makes a final decision on the eve of the 2018 World Cup in Russia on June 13 in Moscow.