The Football Association is concerned that England's training base for the 2026 World Cup in Kansas City lacks sufficient privacy and intends to erect protective fencing to prevent rival teams from spying on the squad. This comes amid the ongoing spygate scandal that led to Southampton's expulsion from the Championship playoff final for illegally surveilling opponents' training sessions.
Training Ground Arrangements
England will be based at Swope Soccer Village, the home of Sporting Kansas City's academy teams, located a 20-minute drive from the team hotel. This was the FA's second choice; their preferred facility, Sporting Kansas City's performance centre, was secured by Argentina. The FA will add an outdoor gym and a players' lounge to the site, but the open nature of the training ground necessitates extra security measures.
Manager's Response
When asked about spying concerns, England manager Thomas Tuchel responded with a smile, miming drawing a bow and arrow. "We will take care of that, of course," he said. "As good as possible and not in a crazy way. It is what it is. As you all know, Argentina had the first option to choose a very secluded high-end facility in Kansas. So like always, you try to influence what you can influence. We are very happy with the training facility, especially what the FA and all the people in charge made now out of it. It suits all of our needs. But I agree it can be overlooked. I think we will have security there and we will build a bit of protection. Because of course it's crucial if you train on [matchday] minus-one, you do your team buildups, you do your set pieces, you finalise with penalties … you don't want the opponent to know. It just gives you a crucial advantage. So we're trying to be as private as possible."
England will fly in and out of Kansas City for all matches, starting with their opener against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June.
