King Mohammed visits Rabat sports complex

King Mohammed VI on Thursday visited the Rabat Moulay Abdallah sports complex, which is being renovated, part of Morocco's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

The king heard explanations on the ongoing work to refurbish the 80,000-seat stadium and the annexed facilities.

The renovation operation, which costs $1.6 million, are meant to bring the complex to the level of the criteria set by FIFA, world football's governing body.

A FIFA delegation is expected in Morocco shortly to assess Morocco's ability to host the planetary competition.

Morocco is competing with South Africa, Germany, England and Brazil to host the World Cup. This is Morocco's third bid after two failures in 1994 (USA) and 1998 (France).