England to rethink 2026 World Cup base plans and may 'venue hop' around tournament
England are set to rethink their plans for a base location for the 2026 World Cup; the FA is considering venue-hopping throughout the tournament; England stayed in the Souq Al-Wakra hotel in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup
Monday 8 December 2025 16:45, UK
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 was told that the FA's preference, before the draw, was to have one single base camp in the centre of North America - probably in Kansas - so as to minimise flight times for any group or knockout game.
However, that plan has now changed - partly because it's thought England could well miss out on their first-choice venue because they would be behind a number of other nations when the training bases are allocated.
In the past, England have always gone 'off-brochure' and selected their base camp privately, rather than from the list of venues recommended by UEFA or FIFA. That has allowed the FA to completely personalise the resort, with bedrooms decorated and styled to suit each individual player, and a host of leisure and training facilities that have been perfect for both work and rest. As a result, the FA has always prided itself in offering the very best facilities of any of the competing nations, allowing a real home-from-home feel for the squad.
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However, this time, England look like they will have to fall in line with FIFA's bigger plan, and select a base from the recommended options. As such, priority will be given to nations who are playing their group matches in that region when it comes to allocating team bases, and by where a nation lies in the FIFA world rankings.
England have two games on the east coast and one in Texas, in the south central region, and so would have to play second fiddle to Argentina, both in terms of ranking and geography. The reigning world champions play their group games in Kansas and Arlington, Texas.
With all that in mind, the FA is now thought to be considering a group-stage base on the east coast of America, which will prove the most practical for the three group games in Dallas, Boston and New Jersey.
While a Kansas base would work fine for those three matches, with no flight time longer than three and a half hours, it could prove problematic for the knockout stages.
If England were to win the group, for example, they would face a round-of-32 match in Atlanta (two-hour flight), a last-16 game in Mexico City (seven-hour flight) and a quarter-final in Miami (three-hour flight).
A runners-up spot in Group L would mean more long flights, with three hours to Toronto for the round of 32 and over four hours to Los Angeles for the last 16.
As a result, it's thought England will consider having a base on the US east coast for the group games and then travelling from match to match for the knockout stages, should they get there. This is FIFA's preferred option, and might be the English FA's only option, because of the tight turnaround between matches in Group L.
England are one of the last nations to start their World Cup campaign with their first game against Croatia on June 17 - six days after the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa.
While this will help the players recover from the domestic season - especially for any players involved in the Champions League final on May 30 - it will mean a quicker turnaround and less recovery time between knockout games once the tournament starts.
Whether England win the group or finish runners-up, in most cases there would only be four days between each of their knockout games. The obvious question then is whether it is worth a long flight back to one central training camp, when there is realistically less than two days before the squad has to fly out for its next match.
One source told Sky Sports News that, because of the heat, the extra matches and the long travel demands, this is expected to be the hardest World Cup to win. The draw also means that, should England get through their group, in the knockout stages they could face Mexico in Mexico City, Brazil or Germany, and Argentina or Portugal - all before they get to the final.
It is thought an FA delegation is in the US now, exploring the various options, before making a final decision. FIFA has set a deadline of January 9 for all nations to file their team-base preferences.
There has been no comment from the FA, who says only that it is still considering options ahead of next summer's finals.
