FIFA World Cup 2026 team base camp training sites footprint finalised

By Staff Reporter

Washington: Another key organisational milestone has been achieved ahead of the landmark FIFA World Cup 2026, with all 48 qualified teams finalising their Team Base Camp (TBC) Training Site selections for the tournament.

Spread across Canada, Mexico and the United States, the 48 TBC Training Sites are set to play a crucial role as teams prepare for the biggest FIFA World Cup in history. The selected facilities will serve as each nation’s “home away from home”, providing players, coaches and support staff with a base for training, recovery and day-to-day operations during the group stage of the tournament.

The training sites are also expected to extend the tournament’s reach beyond the 16 official host cities, delivering economic and social benefits to communities that will welcome national teams despite not staging matches. With North America offering extensive infrastructure and strong transport connectivity, the presence of teams — along with travelling fans and international media — is expected to generate significant local impact and bring FIFA World Cup excitement to a broader audience.

“Team Base Camps are an integral part of the fabric of any FIFA World Cup,” said Heimo Schirgi, Chief Operating Officer of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“They are where teams put down roots, train and recuperate, and experience the day-to-day rhythms of the tournament,” he said, adding that the expanded scale of the 2026 edition provides an opportunity to involve more communities and fans than ever before in what he described as a groundbreaking event.

The selection process for the TBC Training Sites was both extensive and collaborative, beginning in 2024 with FIFA presenting a preliminary list of elite facilities to prospective qualifiers. The options were refined further throughout 2025, before the process accelerated following the Final Draw in December 2025, when the then-qualified teams began making selections from more than 60 available options based partly on the geographical locations of their group-stage fixtures.

Seven participating nations — Colombia, Iran, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Tunisia and Uruguay — will be based in Mexico during the tournament.

Meanwhile, Canada and Panama have selected Team Base Camp Training Sites in Canada, while the remaining 39 national teams will operate from locations across the United States.

In total, 25 communities outside the official host cities will welcome participating teams, further extending the tournament’s footprint. These include New Tecumseth in Canada; Cancun, Pachuca and Tijuana in Mexico; and several US locations including Alexandria, Austin, Boca Raton, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Columbus, Goleta, Greenbrier, Greensboro, Irvine, Mesa, Nashville, Palm Beach Gardens, Portland, Renton, San Diego, Sandy, Santa Barbara, Spokane, Tampa and Winston-Salem.

The expanded Team Base Camp structure reflects the unprecedented scale of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and is expected to strengthen engagement between teams, local communities and supporters across North America.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Team Base Camp Training Sites: