England Explore for World Cup Bases Following Concerns of Losing Preferred Site to Netherlands.
England's football governing body has sent officials to the America this week to look at potential bases for the upcoming tournament, amidst increasing worries that their top-pick site could be allocated by the Holland.
Tournament Draw Complexities Change Plans
Head coach Thomas Tuchel had earlier approved an FA proposal for England to locate in Kansas following a warm-up training period in Fort Lauderdale. However, following last week's tournament draw, there are now fears that the Netherlands, who play their group stage matches in Kansas, will be given first choice on the desired facility at Sporting Kansas City—a high-performance centre operated by US Soccer.
The world governing body allocates training bases based on geographic location and world rankings if there is a dispute, with the draw potentially placing the FA against the Netherlands and Argentina for bases in the tournament's central region.
Exploring Alternative Sites
With 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 started its search for training bases at the beginning of the year, with Tuchel and technical director John McDermott visiting possible sites during the Club World Cup last summer.
In spite of this early preparation, there was always an understanding that the official tournament draw could significantly alter their logistical arrangements.
Knockout Stage Travel Plans
England have the eighth most arduous group stage draw in terms of travel. Topping Group L would set England on course for a round of 32 game in Atlanta, then a possible last-16 tie in Mexico City.
- Major Departure: The FA may decide to travel from match to match for the knockout stages if England qualify, a significant departure from its standard protocol of having a single tournament base.
- FIFA Encouragement: FIFA is understood to be actively encouraging such a itinerant strategy for the expansive 2026 tournament.
Once the base camp is finalized, the FA will turn its attention to scheduling two pre-tournament matches in Florida at the beginning of June.
