While the campaign has only really kicked-off in earnest this week after Morocco finally launched their bid, an old issue could haunt the joint North American attempt at landing FIFA’s quadrennial showpiece; United States President Donald Trump.

Trump has seemingly managed to offend anyone and everyone during his controversial year-long tenure as President thus far and there is a danger that might snowball into a major problem for the United 2026 bid.

His latest misdemeanour saw him denigrate African nations as "shithole countries", prompting criticism from some of the other smaller countries across the world.

Heads surely descended into hands among members of the United 2026 bid team when Trump’s comments were latched onto by the American media. Many of these "shithole" countries will decide the destination of the World Cup, remember and there are 56 African votes are up for grabs.

Victor Montagliani, head of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), was quick to jump to the defence of the smaller nations in the region after Trump's comments.

Although he did not directly mention Trump, Montagliani pledged his support to the likes of Haiti and El Salvador in a Tweet which referenced the comments the US President had made.

"In the footballing community we understand that diversity of experience and background provides strength to the team," he wrote.

"The CONCACAF family stands alongside those in and from Haiti, El Salvador and around the world, in reminding that all are welcome on the field."

Montagliani was again asked about Trump effect during a United 2026 press briefing in London earlier this week but refused to be drawn.

"The politics of the day are always the politics of the day," he said.

"When we first started even thinking about bidding, which was years ago... there was the politics of the day back then.

"I can't even remember what it was to be quite honest with you but I'm sure there was a certain political environment. There is one right now and there will be one when we get to 2026.

"But consistently for us, from a bid perspective, it's always been about football and it will always be about football."

It is, of course, not the first time Trump has been involved in this race.

Back in March of last year, a month before the United 2026 bid was formally announced by the US, Canada and Mexico, FIFA President Gianni Infantino warned a travel ban on six majority-Muslim countries could seriously damage the joint attempt.

"It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup," Infantino said.

The warning from the FIFA President, who publicly channelled his inner Trump when accusing critics of the organisation for providing "fake news" at the Congress in Bahrain last May, came amid similar concerns on the impact the US President would have on Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At the time, Los Angeles were still very much competing for 2024, along with Paris, before they eventually settled for the 2028 edition.

Los Angeles 2024 officials were constantly reminding us that the size of the US meant the President was not as important to the bid as in other nations. They positioned themselves as a Californian bid, rather than an American one.

The United 2026 team are probably feeling something similar, even if Montagliani did not admit it, but their bid is unquestionably in a better position than that of their Moroccan challengers even with Trump doing his best to try to derail it.

With just over four months to go until FIFA’s membership elects the 2026 host, Morocco has only just officially entered the race.

A bid team, a logo and social media presence, both in French and in English, are now in place. It is a start.

But we are still none the wiser as to exact details, something the United 2026 team were keen to point out on Twitter.

In a message sent out on the same day as Morocco’s announcement at a press conference in Casablanca, the joint American bid wrote: "The first ever 48-team World Cup across three counties requires an enormous effort. Our candidate host cities are ready…hosting agreements have started to arrive at the bid office."

Morocco might claim they will not use Trump as a political weapon - a claim which I cannot see coming to fruition, what with Mike Lee of Vero at the helm of the communications operation - but the United 2026 bid were not slow to highlight the clear deficiencies of their rival.

In all honesty, such drawbacks of the Moroccan bid compared with their challenger are there for all to see.

Morocco does not possess the venues or infrastructure and will not be as an attractive an option as the United 2026 to broadcasters. Whether they will be able to cope from a logistical standpoint with the 2026 tournament due to feature an additional 16 teams - 48 instead of the usual 32 - is a question that still needs answering.

Optimism among the Morocco 2026 team remains high, though.

"We have assembled a committed, enthusiastic, and experienced team to bring our vision to life for the 2026 FIFA World Cup," Royal Moroccan Football Federation President Fouzi Lekjaa said.

"We are working hard to submit a superb bid to FIFA in mid-March and we will reveal more details as we move forward.

"We may surprise many people with our strong infrastructure and commercial offering, and we will highlight our wonderful welcome, host cities and stunning locations. It promises to be a truly special bid."

They know they are the clear underdog but American bids, for example, have been favourites for events such as the Olympic Games in recent years and lost, so victory for United 2026 is not guaranteed.

Morocco are positioning themselves as an alternative option to the glitz and glamour touted by the United 2026 team and have promised "surprises" in their exact bid plan, due to be unveiled in the near future.

Perhaps then will be a better time to weigh up the pros and cons of both bids.

As it stands, though, the 2026 World Cup being held in the US, Canada and Mexico seems as inevitable as another Trump mishap.