England searching for World Cup camp amid potential hurdle that could see them lose their preferred camp to Netherlands.
England scout for World Cup camps amid fears of losing preferred base to Netherlands.
Concerned that England would lose their chosen location to the Netherlands, the Football Association despatched operational personnel to the US this week to search prospective World Cup training camps.
Following a pre-tournament training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Thomas Tuchel approved an FA plan for England to be based in Kansas. However, following last week’s draw, there are worries that the Netherlands will be given their preferred facility at Sporting Kansas City, a high-performance centre used by US Soccer.
If, as the FA anticipates, the Netherlands choose Sporting KC, Fifa will grant them first refusal based on geographic proximity because they play their group games in Kansas and two Texas cities, Houston and Arlington. The group matches for England will be held in Dallas, Boston, and New Jersey.
If there is competition, Fifa assigns training camps depending on location and world rankings; the draw may pit the FA against Argentina and the Netherlands for bases in the south-central region of the tournament. Argentina’s group matches will be place in Arlington and Kansas. It is believed that the FA is investigating options on the east coast.
The FA started looking for training camps at the beginning of the year, and Tuchel and the technical director, John McDermott, visited possible locations during the Club World Cup last summer. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that the draw might change their plans.
In terms of travel, England’s group stage draw is the fifth most difficult. England would advance to a last-32 match in Atlanta and possibly a last-16 match in Mexico City if they won Group L. Should England qualify, the FA may decide to travel from match to match for the knockout stages, which would be a major change from its custom. It is thought that Fifa is supporting this strategy.