International Powerhouses Choose US Soil World Cup Bases

Several elite training facilities have now been confirmed ahead of the FIFA World Cup — and the pattern is clear: international heavyweights are selecting MLS and American collegiate environments as their preparation hubs.

France will be based at Babson College, while Germany will operate from Wake Forest University and Spain has chosen Baylor School. Brazil will train at the Red Bull Performance Center, Switzerland will prepare at San Diego Jewish Academy, Japan will set up camp at Nashville SC’s training center and Ecuador will utilize the Ohio Health Performance Center.

This isn’t symbolic — it’s strategic. National teams conduct extensive site analysis before committing to a base camp: pitch standards, sports science infrastructure, recovery facilities, privacy controls, and travel logistics. Selecting MLS and U.S. college facilities signals confidence in the performance standards embedded within the American soccer ecosystem.

For the next-gen pathway, this is validation at the highest level. When World Cup contenders trust domestic infrastructure, it reinforces the credibility of the environments that develop American prospects daily.

Young players training in MLS academies or collegiate performance centers aren’t operating in secondary systems — they’re embedded in facilities capable of hosting global powers. The takeaway: infrastructure matters, and the U.S. development pyramid is increasingly aligned with elite international standards.

See below for the current list of national teams setting up World Cup base camps across North America.

Alexandria, Virginia

Croatia

Austin, Texas

Saudi Arabia

Boca Raton, Florida

Curacao

Boston, Massachusetts

France

Charlotte, North Carolina

Scotland

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Spain

Chester, Pennsylvania

Ivory Coast

Columbus, Ohio

Ecuador

Greensboro, North Carolina

Norway

Guadalajara, Mexico

South Korea
Colombia

Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri

Argentina
England
Netherlands

Morristown, New Jersey

Brazil

Nashville, Tennessee

Japan

New Tecumseth, Ontario

Panama

Oakland, California

Australia

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Uruguay

Santa Barbara, California

Austria
Qatar

San Diego, California

Switzerland
New Zealand

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Germany