Your city may not be hosting a World Cup match, but there’s still hope for catching one of the teams in action this summer.
In the U.S., more than 20 cities across 19 states will serve as training grounds for national teams during the tournament. (That doesn’t include the 11 American cities where a World Cup game will be played.) Out of the 48 competitors, 39 will be based in the U.S.
These base camps are expected to generate money as well as provide another way for fans to feel involved, according to FIFA.
This Is Nashville: During the World Cup, Samurai Blue calls Nashville home
The upcoming World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico will be the biggest one in history — with more teams and matches across more cities than ever. The tournament begins on June 11 and runs through July 19. And it’s the first to take place in the U.S. since 1994.
This week, FIFA finalized the list of where each team will train. Here’s a breakdown by state.
Arizona
Turkey will train at Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa.
California
The Golden State is hosting seven teams. In Northern California, Australia will train at the Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club in Oakland, while Paraguay will set up camp at San Jose State University’s Spartan Soccer Complex in San Jose.
In Southern California, the United States will make the Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine its home base. Qatar will train at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, and Austria at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Harder Stadium in Goleta. And in San Diego, New Zealand will make the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium its base camp, while Switzerland settles in at the San Diego Jewish Academy.
Florida
Cape Verde will be based at the Waters Sportsplex in Tampa; Curaçao at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton; and Portugal at the Gardens North County District Park in Palm Beach Gardens.
Georgia
Uzbekistan will train at the MLS club Atlanta United’s training center in Atlanta, which is also a host city for the World Cup matches.
Kansas
Argentina’s training home base will be at the MLS club Sporting KC’s training facility in Kansas City; Algeria will be at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Massachusetts
France will be based at Bentley University near Boston, another host city for games.
Missouri
In the other Kansas City, England will make the Swope Soccer Village its base, while the Netherlands will use the training facility of the KC Current, which competes in the National Women’s Soccer League.
New Jersey
Haiti will train at Stockton University in Galloway; Morocco at the Pingry School in Bernards Township; Senegal at Rutgers University facilities in Piscataway; and Brazil’s training base will be the Columbia Park Training Facility, home to the MLS’ New York Red Bulls, in Morris Township, N.J.
The World Cup final will also take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, where BTS, Shakira and Madonna will perform in a Super Bowl-style halftime show.
North Carolina
Norway will train at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Germany at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem; and Scotland at the training facility of the MLS’ Charlotte FC in east Charlotte.
Ohio
Ecuador will set up camp at the OhioHealth Performance Center in Columbus, which is the training site for the MLS’ Columbus Crew.
Oregon
Jordan’s training base will be at the University of Portland in Portland.
Pennsylvania
Ivory Coast’s base camp will be at the Subaru Park stadium of the MLS’ Philadelphia Union in Philadelphia.
Rhode Island
Ghana will be based at Bryant University outside Providence.
Tennessee
Japan will train at the training center belonging to MLS club Nashville SC and Spain will train at Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Texas
Saudi Arabia’s training base will be at Q2 Stadium of MLS team Austin FC; Democratic Republic of Congo at the Houston Training Centre in Houston; Sweden at Toyota Stadium, home of MLS team FC Dallas, in Frisco; and Czechia at Mansfield Multipurpose Stadium in Mansfield.
Utah
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be at the home stadium of MLS club Real Salt Lake in Sandy.
Virginia
Croatia will be at Episcopal High School in Alexandria.
Washington
Belgium’s training base will be the Providence Swedish Performance Center and Clubhouse, home of the MLS’ Seattle Sounders, in Renton, while Egypt will be at Gonzaga University in Spokane.
West Virginia
Iraq will train at the Greenbrier Sports Performance Centre in Greenbrier County.
Beyond the U.S.
Canada and Panama will train in Canada, while Colombia, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay and Tunisia will be based in Mexico.
The Iranian national soccer team was initially set to train in Tucson, Ariz. But after the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, the team successfully requested to move its base to Mexico.
Copyright © 2026 NPR
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM