Seven World Cup teams will call California home this summer

Seven different nations will call California their temporary home this summer.  

Both Los Angeles and San Francisco will stage a total of 14 World Cup matches, including the United States Men’s National Team opener at SoFi Stadium. But California will also host seven countries’ base camps during the six-week long tournament. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest in history. 48 teams will kick off in 16 different host cities spread across three countries on one continent. All 48 participating nations have selected temporary base camps where the players will sleep, train, recover and prepare for the biggest matches of their careers. The 48 base camps are spread out across the United States, Mexico and Canada. 

While the tournament itself will unfold in the 104 matches in 16 different cities, the real work will begin at these training camps scattered throughout North America. 

And no U.S. state landed more World Cup teams than California. 

Australia will train in Alameda. Austria and Qatar will both set up shop in Santa Barbara. New Zealand and Switzerland are headed to San Diego. Paraguay will call San Jose home. The United States will prepare for the tournament in Irvine.

That concentration of elite international talent underscores California’s growing influence in the global soccer landscape.

The choices were not random.

Teams have spent years evaluating weather, travel logistics, training facilities, hotel accommodations, and proximity to group-stage venues. It’s clear that a lot of those nations felt California checked nearly every box. Coastal temperatures are mild, especially in June and July. California has world-class training centers aplenty. International airports connect seamlessly with host cities across the continent. 

For some countries, geography was more important than weather. Others were drawn to California’s enormous soccer culture and the ability to train in environments that will closely resemble the conditions they’ll face during the tournament. 

Among the World Cup giants, many of the favorites are training in Kansas City and the East Coast. Reigning champion, Argentina chose Kansas City, as did England and the Netherlands. Brazil will be based in New Jersey. France in Boston. Germany settled in North Carolina. Portugal in Florida, and Spain, the favorites of the tournament will be based out of Tennessee.

Mexico will also host seven countries for their base camp. Including Iran, which recently moved its base camp from Arizona to Tijuana amid uncertainty surrounding tensions in the Middle East.

A lot of the base camps, especially from the three host countries, will be open to the public for at least one day. The U.S. team will open their practice to the public on June 8th. So fans that want to see their team prepare better plan accordingly now. 

Here’s the full list of all 48 FIFA World Cup Base Camp Training Sites:

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters