England Explore for World Cup Bases Amidst Concerns of Missing Out On First-Choice Base to Netherlands.
The Football Association has sent scouts to the US this week to look at potential facilities for the forthcoming World Cup, amid growing concerns that their first-choice base could be taken by the Netherlands.
Tournament Draw Complications Change Arrangements
Head coach Thomas Tuchel had earlier cleared an FA strategy for England to locate in Kansas after a pre-tournament training camp in Fort Lauderdale. Yet, after last week's tournament draw, there are now fears that the Netherlands, who play their group stage matches in Kansas, will be awarded priority on the chosen facility at Sporting Kansas City—a high-performance centre operated by US Soccer.
FIFA assigns training bases based on geography and FIFA rankings if there is competition, with the draw possibly pitting the FA in competition with the Netherlands and Argentina for sites in the tournament's south-central region.
Considering Alternative Sites
With England's group fixtures set to take place in Dallas, Boston, and New Jersey, the FA is now understood to be investigating alternative locations on the eastern seaboard. The FA started its search for training bases at the beginning of the year, with Tuchel and director of football John McDermott visiting possible locations during the Club World Cup last summer.
In spite of this early preparation, there was always an acceptance that the final tournament draw could drastically change their plans.
Later Round Travel Strategy
England face the eighth most demanding group stage draw in terms of travel. Winning Group L would set England on track for a last-32 game in Atlanta, followed by possible round of 16 tie in Mexico City.
- Significant Change: The FA may decide to travel from match to match for the later rounds if England progress, a significant departure from its usual practice of having a single tournament base.
- FIFA Encouragement: FIFA is understood to be actively encouraging such a itinerant strategy for the vast 2026 tournament.
Once the training base is finalized, the FA will turn its attention to arranging two warm-up matches in Florida at the start of June.
