The North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup appears to have its nose in front as the bidding race comes down to its final weeks.
A FIFA report has scored the joint bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico four out of five, while the only other bidder, Morocco, scored 2.7 and was labelled "high risk" in several areas.
The hosts for the 48-team tournament will be chosen at the FIFA Congress on June 13.
Morocco has proposed using 14 stadiums in 12 cities, with nine to be built from scratch and the other five requiring extensive refurbishment.
The North African nation plans a total investment of nearly $16 billion, mostly on improvements to infrastructure which the bid says the country needs anyway.
"The Morocco 2026 bid is well presented and strong in terms of government commitment, but would need to newly build most of its tournament-related and wider infrastructure," the FIFA report said.
The so-called United bid from the US, Canada and Mexico plans to use 16 stadiums across as many cities.
It says all of its planned stadiums already exist and have a capacity of at least 68,000.
"The United 2026 bid ... has promising levels of infrastructure already in place and fully-operational," the report said.
Forecast revenues were $7.2 billion for a tournament in Morocco and $14.3 billion for a North American tournament, which the report said gave the latter a "strong advantage."
Morocco's bid organisers have urged FIFA to choose its bid as part of a longer-term strategy for the future of the game.
"By choosing Morocco, the football family can make an historic choice, allowing FIFA to further develop football around the world and ensure its accessibility for all," said Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
"This choice will also allow FIFA to show the world that ... the World Cup is a window for inclusion and openness."
