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Kansas City, KS – With three months to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, cities across the United States are scrambling to complete training facilities for the national teams to call home during the world tournament.
Among them is Kansas City, which will serve as the base of the defending national soccer team of Argentina, which is a big win for the region as it prepares to welcome both players and tens of thousands of international fans.
Base camps are essential to World Cup operations. They serve as home headquarters where teams live, train and recover while traveling between game venues throughout the tournament.
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Signs for the 2026 World Cup are on display in Kansas City, one of the host cities for the tournament. (Olivianna Calmes)
“From private training grounds to recovery rooms for players, these facilities are designed to support famous players in football,” said Alan Dietrich, who worked closely with the organizers.
Local leaders have spent more than a year pitching their cities to international teams, hoping to showcase not only the sports facilities but the community as a whole.
“Actually, we started more than a year ago when countries started visiting,” said Dietrich.
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Tourism officials say the opportunity extends beyond the sport itself. Hosting a base camp allows cities to introduce themselves to a global audience and build long-term international relationships.
To show support for Kansas City’s bid for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the KC2026 Bid Committee and Outfront Media installed a 90×90-foot banner on Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“We knew that the World Cup would be our first and perhaps our biggest opportunity to connect with these global markets,” said Devin Aaron with Visit KC.
The locker room displays the “We are FIFA 2026 Kansas City” sign at the Sporting KC training ground (Olivianna Calmes)
Early expectations were for Miami-based Argentina, but Kansas City ended up standing out during the selection process.
“When Argentina visited, they really liked it here,” Dietrich said. “They loved our facilities, they loved our people.”
The team will train at Sporting Kansas City’s Compass Minerals National Performance Center, a state-of-the-art facility in Kansas City, Kansas that will serve as Argentina’s training ground during the tournament.
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The complex features multiple professional grade fields and state-of-the-art training facilities designed for international competition.
Inside, players will have access to private restaurants, meeting rooms and dedicated recovery areas designed to help them relax between games.
World Cup players’ lounge (Olivianna Calmes)
“If they’ve traveled a lot and are tired, they can come in here, turn off the lights and have a good night’s sleep,” added Dietrich.
Up to 100,000 Argentina fans are expected to travel to Kansas City during the tournament, a showcase of the international crowds that will fill World Cup host cities across the US.
Across the US, host cities and base camps are preparing for similar operations, as teams finalize training camps and fans follow their national teams.
US cities host World Cup games (Fox Stories)
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The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, expanding from 32 to 48 teams and including host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, each competing for global visibility and long-term economic impact.
