The Football Association has sent operational staff to the United States this week to scout for potential World Cup training camps, amid concerns that England may lose their preferred site to the Netherlands. Thomas Tuchel had approved a plan for England to be based in Kansas after a pre-tournament camp in Fort Lauderdale, but the draw has raised fears that the Netherlands will be allocated the high-performance centre at Sporting Kansas City.
The Netherlands play their group fixtures in Kansas City, Houston and Dallas, giving them first refusal on the Sporting KC facility due to geographical proximity. England's group games will be in Dallas, Boston and New Jersey. Fifa allocates training camps based on geography and world rankings if there is competition, with the FA potentially competing against the Netherlands and Argentina for bases in the south-central region.
The FA is understood to be exploring alternatives on the east coast. Searches for training camps began at the start of the year, with Tuchel and technical director John McDermott visiting potential sites during the Club World Cup last summer. Despite this planning, there was an acceptance that the draw could alter their plans.
England face the eighth most arduous group stage draw in terms of travel. Winning Group L would set up a last-32 game in Atlanta and a potential last-16 tie in Mexico City. The FA may opt to travel from match to match for the knockout stages, a significant departure from usual practice, with Fifa believed to be encouraging such an approach.
After confirming the base camp, the FA will turn its attention to arranging two warm-up matches in Florida at the start of June.
