Walid Regragui, the coach who stood firm to send Morocco to the World Cup semis in 2022 is among the football stars in Kigali to, among other things, attend the much-anticipated 73rd FIFA Congress, on March 16. On December 10, 2022, Regragui became the first coach to qualify an African team to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. No African team had done that in the competition’s history. Under the management of Regragui, Morocco’s national team made history in the World Cup 2022, in Qatar, when it became the first African side to reach the semi-finals. They lost to France but eventually finished fourth, behind Croatia. ALSO READ: Morocco stuns Portugal in a historic victory for Africa Regragui became the head coach of the Moroccan national team on August 31, 2022, replacing Bosnian tactician Vahid Halilhodzic. Morocco on Tuesday announced that it, alongside Spain and Portugal, presented a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030. The bid was announced right after Moroccan King Mohammed VI was, alongside President Paul Kagame, presented with the CAF President’s Outstanding Achievement Awards 2022 in a glamorous ceremony held in Kigali on Tuesday, March 14. ALSO READ: Walid Regragui: The coach who stood firm to send Morocco to World Cup semis Morocco committed to taking part in the 2030 bid more than four years ago, immediately after losing the vote for the 2026 tournament. It was in talks with the Iberian nations for a while but had never been officially included in the bid. ALSO READ: Morocco’s World Cup magic potion: Football moms, dads and fans Should they succeed this time round, Morocco would be the second African country to host the World Cup in the tournament’s history after South Africa, in 2006. Lately, in February, Morocco hosted FIFA’s Club World Cup.
