Team England confirms KC as its World Cup home base
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
That's a lot of soccer, innit? Photo: Courtesy of Sporting KC
England will make its home base in Kansas City, choosing Swope Soccer Village for its training site, the team announced Wednesday.
The big picture: The reveal comes after Argentina also announced it would be in KC. Both teams, ranked No. 4 and No. 2, respectively, are likely to bring large delegations of fans.
Zoom in: The more than $20 million facility on the north edge of Swope Park belongs to Sporting KC and has hosted national teams, plus U.K. clubs like Manchester United.
What they're saying: "Over the past 15 years, this region has invested more than $650 million in soccer infrastructure," Sporting KC president and chief executive Jake Reid says, calling KC the "Soccer Capital of America."
Zoom out: As many as 30,000 English fans have traveled to recent World Cups, but the millions of Americans who watch the Premier League may increase the influx to KC.
- KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer told reporters last month that a team's base camp could attract fans from cities around the Midwest, like Chicago.
The intrigue: England, which doesn't even play any of its group stage matches in KC, chose the city as its preferred location when representatives visited in January, the club states.
- Local World Cup leaders attribute the metro's investment in soccer facilities and central North American location as prime factors for teams.
What we're watching: The Netherlands also named KC as their top choice, the Kansas City Star reported, although the team has not made an official statement regarding FIFA's allocation.
- "We've said from day one before even this, we want at least three base camps here," Reid said in a recent interview. "I think we're on a good path."