FIFA has confirmed the training base for every team at the 2026 World Cup — and the full list is a logistical exercise unlike anything the tournament has seen before. Forty-eight nations. Three countries. Thirty-nine camps in the United States, seven in Mexico, and two in Canada.
Defending champions Argentina are set up in Kansas City at the Sporting KC Training Centre. England are also in Kansas City, at Swope Soccer Village, which means two of the tournament heavyweights are essentially neighbors. The Netherlands complete a Kansas City trio, based at the KC Current Training Facility. That cluster alone makes the Missouri city the unofficial capital of World Cup 2026 preparation.
The Iran situation is the one everyone's watching
The most politically charged base camp placement belongs to Iran, who will train at Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana, Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the decision personally — Iran cannot operate out of the US due to visa restrictions, so Mexico stepped in. Colombia, South Korea, South Africa, Tunisia, Uruguay, and Mexico itself round out the seven teams based south of the US border.
Panama and Canada are both stationed in Canada, with Panama heading to Nottawasaga in Ontario and the hosts using their National Soccer Development Centre in Vancouver.
France head to Bentley University in Boston. Brazil land in the New York-New Jersey area at Columbia Park. Spain, perhaps unexpectedly, are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the Baylor School. Germany go to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Not exactly the glamour locations you might associate with those squads, but at this level the quality of the training pitch matters more than the postcode.
The full list of all 48 base camps
- Algeria: Kansas City — University of Kansas
- Argentina: Kansas City — Sporting KC Training Centre
- Australia: San Francisco Bay Area — Oakland Roots/Soul facility
- Austria: Goleta, CA — UC Santa Barbara
- Belgium: Renton, WA — Seattle Sounders performance centre
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sandy, UT — RSL Stadium
- Brazil: New York-New Jersey — Columbia Park Training Facility
- Cabo Verde: Tampa, FL — Waters Sportsplex
- Canada: Vancouver — National Soccer Development Centre
- Colombia: Guadalajara, MX — Academia Atlas FC
- Congo DR: Houston — Houston Training Centre
- Cote d'Ivoire: Philadelphia — Philadelphia Union
- Croatia: Alexandria — Episcopal High School
- Curaçao: Boca Raton, FL — Florida Atlantic University
- Czechia: Dallas — Mansfield Multipurpose Stadium
- Ecuador: Columbus, OH — Columbus Crew Performance Centre
- Egypt: Spokane, WA — Gonzaga University
- England: Kansas City — Swope Soccer Village
- France: Boston — Bentley University
- Germany: Winston-Salem, NC — Wake Forest University
- Ghana: Boston — Bryant University
- Haiti: New York-New Jersey — Stockton University
- Iran: Tijuana, MX — Centro Xoloitzcuintle
- Iraq: Greenbrier, WV — Greenbrier Sports Performance Centre
- Japan: Nashville, TN — Nashville SC facility
- Jordan: Portland — University of Portland
- Mexico: Mexico City — Centro de Alto Rendimiento
- Morocco: New York-New Jersey — Pingry School
- Netherlands: Kansas City — KC Current Training Facility
- New Zealand: San Diego — University of San Diego, Torero Stadium
- Norway: Greensboro, NC — UNC Greensboro
- Panama: New Tecumseth, CAN — Nottawasaga Training Site
- Paraguay: San Francisco Bay Area — Spartan Soccer Complex
- Portugal: Palm Beach Gardens — Gardens North County District Park
- Qatar: Santa Barbara, CA — Westmont College
- Saudi Arabia: Austin, TX — Austin FC Stadium
- Scotland: Charlotte, NC — Charlotte FC facility
- Senegal: New York-New Jersey — Rutgers University
- South Africa: Pachuca, MX — Universidad Del Futbol
- South Korea: Guadalajara, MX — Chivas Verde Valle
- Spain: Chattanooga, TN — Baylor School
- Sweden: Dallas — FC Dallas Stadium
- Switzerland: San Diego — SDJA
- Tunisia: Monterrey, MX — Rayados Training Centre
- Turkiye: Mesa, AZ — Arizona Athletic Grounds
- United States: Irvine — Great Park Sports Complex
- Uruguay: Cancun, MX — Mayakoba Training Centre
- Uzbekistan: Atlanta — Atlanta United Training Centre
FIFA's chief operating officer Heimo Schirgi described base camps as "where teams put down roots, train and recuperate, and experience the day-to-day rhythms of the tournament." Straightforward enough. But with 48 teams spread across three nations and an entire continent, the rhythms are going to vary considerably — and any team that draws a substandard facility, long travel legs between camp and match venue, or awkward climate conditions will feel it by the knockout rounds.
The tournament kicks off next month. The base camps are set. Now we find out who actually prepared well.
