Seventeen Muslim countries voted against Morocco’s bid to become the first African Muslim country to host the World Cup in 2026.
Last week Morocco lost out to an American-led bid by 134 votes to 65. The 2026 World Cup will now be held mainly in the United States but also in Canada and Mexico.
The US-led bid was bolstered by votes from staunch US political allies such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq, but also by Malaysia, Indonesia and others.
Voting for Morocco were 27 Muslim nations including Palestine, Algeria, several other African Muslim countries and Yemen, Turkey, Syria and others.
Meanwhile, Iran voted for neither candidate.
A full breakdown of the voting can be seen here.
Despite the fact that football governing body FIFA says sport and politics should not mix, World Cup host country voting does usually break down along political lines.
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Many commentators on social media commented that Muslim nations had sold Morocco out in favour of a nation that has launch several wars of aggression against the global Ummah.
