England have been forced into a radical rethink over their plans for next summer’s World Cup following the draw at the weekend, and may now have to consider ‘venue-hopping’ for the knockout stages of the tournament, rather than having one single base camp.If they go ahead with that idea, it would be the first time England have ever deviated from their tournament philosophy of a single ‘home’ that the players return to in between matches.
Sky Sports News reported that, prior to the draw, the FA preferred to have a single base camp located in the middle of North America, probably in Kansas, to minimize flight times for group games or knockout matches.
This plan has changed, partly because England may not get their first choice venue as they will be behind other nations in the allocation of training bases.
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Kaveh Solhekol looks at the World Cup draw after FIFA has been criticised over the way the event was played.
England has always chosen their base camp privately and not from a list of venues suggested by UEFA or FIFA. The FA was able to personalise their resort with rooms that were decorated to match the players’ tastes, as well as a range of training and leisure facilities. In order to provide the best possible facilities for its players, the FA always takes pride in being the most advanced nation.
This time around, England will need to follow FIFA’s larger plan and choose a base among the options recommended. Priority will be given to those nations that play their group matches within the region, as well as to nations that are ranked highly in FIFA’s world rankings.
England, with two games in Texas and two on the east coast, would rank second behind Argentina both geographically and in terms of ranking. The world champions will play their group games at Kansas and Arlington in Texas.
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2025-12-08 16:12:00
