Marca: The Ceuta crisis raises concerns ahead of the 2030 World Cup

Over the course of four years, the stadiums of Madrid, Lisbon, Casablanca and the rest of the host cities are set to stage the 2030 World Cup, in a historic edition held for the first time across three continents, betting on sport to build a bridge between the two shores of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Spanish newspaper "Marca", though, believes the recent Ceuta crisis is a reminder of the other face of the relationship between Morocco and Spain. Around 49,000 people crossed from the kingdom in north-west Africa into Ceuta, the biggest migration crisis the city has witnessed since 2021.

At least 24 people lost their lives during attempts to cross. Authorities reinforced the border fence and deployed the Civil Guard and the Spanish army.

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The article's author, Gerardo Riquelme, calls the crisis first and foremost a human tragedy. But he points out that migration flows towards the Spanish enclaves do not happen of their own accord. They depend to a large degree on how tightly Morocco controls its borders, a card whose use has historically been linked to the state of relations with Madrid.

Back in 2021, the events in Ceuta coincided with the entry of the leader of the Polisario Front into a hospital in the Spanish city of Logroño, suffering from Covid and under a fake identity. Rabat has always denied any link between the two matters and has attributed the migration flows to human trafficking networks, according to Riquelme.

"A crisis of trust"

All of this matters more with Morocco, Spain and Portugal hosting the 2030 World Cup, because the tournament demands trust and extensive coordination in security, transport, visas and border control. The article asks what guarantees this trust rests on, if migration management can shift with the diplomatic climate.

Before 2030, the piece argues, the two countries need a stable framework for migration that does not depend on the goodwill of any government. That protects both the people who risk their lives at the fence and the success of a World Cup meant to symbolise unity.

Spain, meanwhile, must strengthen its cooperation with Morocco, including intelligence cooperation, while maintaining a strong position. Ceuta and Melilla, the article recalls, are not merely a gateway into Spain, but into the European Union and its 27 states.

The 2030 World Cup, it concludes, will rightly be presented as a celebration of football and an alliance between civilisations. But celebrations are better "when the house is in order".