England asks FIFA to have World Cup camp at Swope Park, plans 'personal touches'
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- England requests Swope Soccer Village as primary 2026 World Cup training base
- FA plans personalized camp at Swope to avoid city hopping during tournament
- Swope's $20M-plus facility hosts elite clubs and national teams for training
When it became known that Swope Soccer Village would be used as a fourth 2026 World Cup base camp in the Kansas City area, only one question remained.
Argentina, England and the Netherlands reportedly have asked FIFA to train in Kansas City, and Algeria likely will be at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, according to a report from the United Kingdom.
But that unanswered question: Where will the three European sides train in Kansas City? According to the BBC, England wants to have its base camp at Swope Park.
“(T)he Football Association has submitted a request to stay in the Missouri city, with the state-of-the-art Swope facility nominated as their first-choice daily training base,” the BBC reported.
“While FIFA is still to officially confirm each nation’s chosen base, it is understood England are very likely to be allocated their preferred location.”
The Daily Mail also reported the Three Lions want to have a base camp at Swope. That story says England’s players signed off on the idea and the FA plans to make Swope a home away from home.
“Harry Kane and the team’s leadership group were consulted and the preference was to establish a base with personalized touches rather than city hop throughout the tournament,” the Daily Mail reported. “Algeria will also be in the vicinity.”
Sporting Kansas City’s academy team practices at Swope Soccer Village. And a number of national teams and international clubs have used the Swope facilities as well.
This is from the Sporting Fields + Athletics website: “The $20+ million facility has served as a training site for an illustrious list of teams since opening in 2007, including the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams, Mexico Women’s National Team, Uruguay Men’s National Team, Kansas City Current, AS Roma, CD Guadalajara, Club America, Manchester United, Manchester City, Montpellier, Newcastle United and Stoke City.”
