- FIFA Confirms Base Camps for All 48 Teams Ahead of Historic 2026 World Cup
FIFA has confirmed the Team Base Camp Training Sites for all 48 countries that will compete at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, marking another major organisational milestone ahead of the largest tournament in the competition’s history.
The expanded World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, will see national teams spread across North America as they prepare for the group stage of the tournament.
According to FIFA, 39 teams will be based in the United States, seven in Mexico and two in Canada. The governing body said the finalisation of the training base footprint would allow more communities beyond the official host cities to share in the economic and social impact of the tournament.
Team Base Camps serve as the “home away from home” for players, coaches and technical staff during the competition. They provide training facilities, accommodation, recovery areas and the operational environment within which teams prepare between matches.
FIFA Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi described the camps as an essential part of the World Cup structure.
“Team Base Camps are an integral part of the fabric of any FIFA World Cup,” he said. “They are where teams put down roots, train and recuperate, and experience the day-to-day rhythms of the tournament.”
He added that the unprecedented scale of the 2026 edition would give more cities and communities the opportunity to experience the tournament beyond the 16 official host cities.
FIFA said 25 non-host communities across North America will welcome national teams, including New Tecumseth in Canada; Cancun, Pachuca and Tijuana in Mexico; and several communities in the United States, including Austin, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Columbus, Greensboro, Irvine, Nashville, Portland, Renton, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tampa and Winston-Salem.
Ghana will set up camp in the United States, with the Black Stars selecting Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, as their training base. The team’s wider base camp is listed within the Boston cluster, with accommodation at Graduate by Hilton Providence.
The choice places Ghana within reasonable travel range of their group-stage fixtures. The Black Stars are scheduled to face Panama in Toronto, England in Boston and Croatia in Philadelphia during the group phase.
Among the other notable selections, England will train at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, while France will use Bentley University in the Boston area. Germany will be based in Winston-Salem, training at Wake Forest University’s W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium.
Host nation Mexico will remain in Mexico City at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento, while Canada will be based in Vancouver at the National Soccer Development Centre. Colombia, Iran, Korea Republic, Mexico, South Africa, Tunisia and Uruguay are the seven teams based in Mexico, while Canada and Panama are the two teams based in Canada.
Kansas City is also expected to be one of the busier football hubs, with several teams, including England, Argentina, the Netherlands and Algeria, using facilities in and around the region.
The Team Base Camp selection process began in 2024, when FIFA provided prospective qualifiers with a list of elite options. The list was refined during 2025, before qualified teams made their selections after the final draw in December 2025. FIFA said teams chose from more than 60 locations, partly based on the geographical zones in which they will play their group-stage matches.
For Ghana, the confirmation of Bryant University as base camp adds an important logistical piece to the Black Stars’ World Cup preparation. Base camps are central to tournament planning, affecting recovery, training rhythm, travel burden, media operations and team privacy.
With the 2026 World Cup featuring 48 teams for the first time, the tournament will test not only players and coaches but also the operational capacity of FIFA and the three host nations. For participating countries, the work now shifts from qualification and draw planning to the finer details of preparation: accommodation, training schedules, medical support, recovery strategy, security arrangements and travel logistics.
For FIFA, the confirmed base camp footprint shows how the expanded World Cup will spread its impact across North America, bringing teams, fans, media and economic activity to communities far beyond the match venues. For Ghana, Rhode Island now becomes the Black Stars’ tournament home the place where preparations for one of the most demanding World Cups in history will take shape.
