The congress was held at the Expocentre in Moscow. The president of the football governing body, Gianni Infantino, announced the result after an e-voting process.

Morocco’s bid got 63 votes while the United bid amassed 134 votes.

One fact that stood out in the two bids was the need for Morocco to build at least nine new stadiums to accommodate the new 48-team tournament.

The USA, Mexico, and Canada already have the needed infrastructure in place, which meant the North American bid would be cheaper to host.

Morocco’s fifth bid, which had former Super Eagles forward, Daniel Amokachi, as a spokesperson at Wednesday’s Congress, probably fell at the better profit margin promised by the United bid – $14.3 billion as to $7.2 billion promised by the Moroccan bid.

The challenge of the United bid would be travel for the games across six time zones but an exemplary transportation network and a well-developed tourism industry will help.