As reported by Morocco World News, the party has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença, urging Portugal to work with Spain to seek a revised hosting arrangement in which the two Iberian nations would stage the competition without Morocco.

Political debate

This appeal follows last week’s migration crisis in Ceuta, during which tens of thousands of migrants attempted to cross into the Spanish territory from Morocco. The incident resulted in dozens of fatalities, with authorities reporting that the death toll has risen above 80, prompting widespread political debate across Europe.

Livre’s five Members of Parliament stressed that Morocco’s continued role as a host nation is now “unsustainable”, alleging that Rabat has failed to uphold international human rights standards and accusing the Moroccan authorities of using vulnerable migrants as a political tool.

However, Morocco has rejected such claims, insisting that the mass movement was largely fuelled by misinformation circulating on social media and misinterpretations of a Spanish court ruling, while maintaining that its security forces acted to prevent irregular migration.

Hosting rights

Speaking to Portuguese broadcaster RTP, Livre spokesperson Jorge Pinto described the events in Ceuta as “the last straw”, arguing that Portugal should not be associated with what he characterised as the normalisation of border violence and political pressure through migration. He also criticised FIFA’s governance under president Gianni Infantino and questioned the transparency of the process used to award hosting rights for major tournaments.

The party is urging the Portuguese and Spanish governments, alongside the EU and UEFA, to establish a common position supporting Portugal and Spain as the sole European hosts of the tournament. It also called on the Portuguese Football Federation to coordinate with its Spanish counterpart on the issue.

This is not the first time Livre has voiced concerns over Morocco’s involvement in the 2030 World Cup. During the bidding process, the party criticised Morocco’s position on Western Sahara and raised concerns over alleged human rights violations.

Signed understanding

Despite the political criticism, preparations for the tournament continue.

Portugal, Spain and Morocco formally signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding earlier this year to reinforce judicial cooperation and coordination ahead of the competition, which will become the first FIFA World Cup to be staged across Europe and Africa.

Meanwhile, Morocco has proceeded with the construction of the Grand Stade Hassan II near Casablanca, a proposed 115,000-seat venue that is expected to become one of the world’s largest football stadiums and is considered a leading candidate to host the 2030 World Cup final.

FIFA has yet to announce where the tournament’s showpiece match will be played.