Where World Cup teams will train in the Philadelphia region
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A handful of visiting World Cup teams will set up their base camps in the Philadelphia region this summer.
Why it matters: It's spreading fan fever beyond the Linc.
The big picture: While most practices will be closed to the public, some teams — like Spain, Japan and Germany — are opening up training sessions to connect with communities.
- And more could follow.
State of play: The national teams training closest to Philly are:
- 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast: The Philadelphia Union's facilities in Chester.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil: The Red Bull Columbia Park Training Facility in Morristown, New Jersey
- 🇭🇹 Haiti: Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey.
Zoom out: New Jersey is a hot spot for base camps, with Morocco at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge and Senegal at Rutgers University.
Meanwhile, here's where the other teams with Group Stage matches in Philly are training:
- 🇫🇷 France: Bentley University outside Boston.
- 🇭🇷 Croatia: Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.
- 🇪🇨 Ecuador: Columbus Crew Performance Centre in Columbus, Ohio.
- 🇮🇶 Iraq: The Greenbrier Sports Performance Centre in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
- 🇨🇼 Curaçao: Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.
- 🇬🇭 Ghana: Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
The intrigue: A FIFA spokesperson tells Axios that teams aren't required to hold open training sessions or any fan events.
- But if they wanted to, they would be managed and announced by the respective national teams and federations.
- No teams have announced open training sessions in the Philly area as of Wednesday.
Context: Philly's Lincoln Financial Field will host six matches during the World Cup — five Group Stage matches, one Round of 16 match.
- The tourney runs June 11-July 19.