By Mark Gleeson BBC Sport Online

Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam said Morocco have a strong chance of winning hosting rights for the 2010 World Cup.

Hammam, a Fifa vice-president, is a member of Fifa's executive committee, which will make the final decision in two years' time.

He told the Moroccan newspaper 'Al Mountakhab' that the country needed to develop its sporting and telecommunications infrastructure.

The north African country have yet to state their intention to enter the bidding race.

But there is little doubt Morocco will meet the 31 December deadline for interested African countries to signal their interest to Fifa.

Morocco have failed in three previous bids but Bin Hammam said their persistence is a major plus this time.

South Africa, which narrowly lost the 2006 World Cup bid to Germany, is seen as the main challenger to Morocco's hopes.

Egypt and Libya are the other countries that have expressed an interest in hosting the 2010 World Cup finals, which will be held in Africa for the first time.