Joint bids the future – German FA

The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams will see “united bids” become the future, the head of the German Football Association (DFB) has said.

In comments which strongly hinted the DFB will back the joint bid by Canada, Mexico and the United States to host the 2026 tournament, Reinhard Grindel said existing infrastructure was crucial.

Grindel added he was pleased the bid by Morocco, the country’s fifth, had made it through a “fair and transparent” process to the FIFA Congress vote on Wednesday, when all 211 member associations, minus the four bidding nations, will cast ballots.

The African nation’s campaign has closed the gap on United 2026, despite the need for it to build or renovate the 14 stadiums it wants to use – a task FIFA’S technical report said “cannot be overstated”.

Grindel said: “Morocco’s bid is well recognised and perhaps it is a point that we want to develop football in Africa and in other regions and the World Cup offers a chance to develop football.”