The Three Lions Search for World Cup Training Facilities Following Worries of Losing Preferred Location to Holland.
The FA has sent operational staff to the America this week to look at potential facilities for the upcoming tournament, amidst increasing apprehensions that their preferred site could be allocated by the Dutch national team.
Draw Complications Alter Preparations
Head coach Thomas Tuchel had earlier approved an FA proposal for England to set up camp in Kansas after a warm-up training period in Fort Lauderdale. But, after last week's group stage draw, there are now fears that the Netherlands, who play their group stage matches in Kansas, will be given first refusal on the desired facility at Sporting Kansas City—a high-performance centre used by US Soccer.
FIFA assigns training bases according to geographic location and FIFA rankings if there is a dispute, with the draw potentially pitting the FA against the Netherlands and Argentina for bases in the tournament's central region.
Exploring Other Options
Given England's group stage matches scheduled to take place in Dallas, Boston, and New Jersey, the FA is now reportedly exploring other locations on the east coast. The FA started its search for training camps at the start of the year, with Tuchel and technical director John McDermott touring potential sites during the Club World Cup last summer.
In spite of this early planning, there was always an understanding that the official tournament draw could drastically change their plans.
Later Round Travel Plans
The Three Lions face the eighth most demanding group stage draw in terms of travel. Topping Group L would set England on track for a last-32 game in Atlanta, then a possible last-16 tie in Mexico City.
- Significant Departure: The FA may opt to choose to travel from match to match for the later rounds if England progress, a significant shift from its usual practice of maintaining a single tournament base.
- FIFA Recommendation: FIFA is understood to be recommending such a flexible approach for the vast 2026 tournament.
Once the training base is confirmed, the FA will turn its attention to scheduling two warm-up matches in Florida at the start of June.
