U.S. men’s soccer team officials toured KC’s World Cup facilities. Here’s why
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC hosted teams and officials to inspect stadiums, practice sites and hotels.
- Organizers share teams' practice times with law enforcement to plan escorts and security.
- KC will host multiple base camps and six matches, including four group-stage games.
We’re still months away from an influx of global visitors arriving in Kansas City for the 2026 World Cup.
But World Cup organizers here have welcomed a number of international guests in the past few weeks.
“FIFA had a workshop for all 48 participating teams last week in Atlanta,” Pam Kramer, president of KC2026, said Monday at a news conference. “Right after that, teams started traveling to their base camp sites, to the sites where they were playing matches in the group stage and to sites where they could potentially play in the knockout round.”
England, Argentina and the Netherlands will have base camps in Kansas City, while Algeria will be in Lawrence. And six matches, including four in the group stage, will be played at Arrowhead Stadium.
In addition to the base camp teams, soccer officials from Austria, Curaçao, Portugal and Team USA were in Kansas City, Kramer said. There is the potential of the U.S. men’s national team playing a knockout round game in KC.
“(Officials were) coming through to see the stadium, the practice facilities, the hotels where they will stay, and then, of course, those base camp teams really working with us to further define what their time in Kansas City will look like,” Kramer said.
“So things like what time they think they will practice, that’s really important information for us to share with law enforcement partners so they can start to plan for the escorts that the teams will need and for the security around the training sites, really understanding how every team is different.”
The chances of the U.S. team playing in Kansas City are remote, but soccer federations are preparing for any possible games in the World Cup.
Kramer said teams that visited Kansas City were here for various durations.
“(Team USA) had a one-day official venue schedule with training site and stadium,” Kramer said. “I would assume it was a pretty quick turn for them, because there are obviously other sites they’re going to. The teams that are base camping here were here for several days.
“The Netherlands was here two full days, three nights. So really depended on, on how long, what their position in Kansas City is whether they’re base camp in your group stage here or just have a potential game.”
