England Search for World Cup Bases Amidst Worries of Losing Preferred Site to Netherlands.
The FA has sent operational staff to the United States this week to look at potential training camps for the forthcoming tournament, amidst increasing concerns that their top-pick base could be taken by the Netherlands.
Draw Complexities Disrupt Plans
Manager Thomas Tuchel had earlier approved an FA plan for England to locate in Kansas after a warm-up training camp in Fort Lauderdale. Yet, following last week's group stage draw, there are now concerns that the Netherlands, who play their group stage matches in Kansas, will be awarded first choice on the chosen facility at Sporting Kansas City—a high-performance centre operated by US Soccer.
The world governing body assigns training bases according to geographic location and FIFA rankings if there is competition, with the draw potentially pitting the FA against the Netherlands and Argentina for sites in the tournament's central region.
Considering Alternative Sites
Given England's group fixtures set to take place in Dallas, Boston, and New Jersey, the FA is now understood to be exploring other options on the eastern seaboard. The association began its search for training camps at the start of the year, with Tuchel and technical director John McDermott visiting potential locations during the Club World Cup last summer.
Despite this early preparation, there was always an understanding that the official tournament draw could drastically change their plans.
Later Round Travel Plans
England face the eighth most demanding group stage draw in terms of travel distance. Winning Group L would put England on course for a last-32 game in Atlanta, then a potential last-16 tie in Mexico City.
- Significant Change: The FA may opt to choose to travel from match to match for the knockout stages if England qualify, a major departure from its standard protocol of maintaining a fixed tournament base.
- Tournament Organizers Encouragement: FIFA is believed to be recommending such a itinerant strategy for the expansive 2026 tournament.
Once the base camp is finalized, the FA will focus on organizing two warm-up matches in Florida at the start of June.
