Mirror Football brings you exclusive coverage of England’s 2026 World Cup home, brought to you by MLS stars who know every blade of grass.
Swope Soccer Village will be England’s training base during the 2026 World Cup (Image: Getty Images for USSF)
The 2026 World Cup is just around the corner, with just 10 weeks until Thomas Tuchel’s England squad takes to the field in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Tuchel will be hoping to become the first manager to lead the Three Lions to World Cup glory since Sir Alf Ramsey lifted the Jules Rimet trophy on home soil in 1966.
Despite this painfully long wait, the Euro 2024 finalists boast superstar-studded squads and head into the tournament as favorites to win. Given the expectations for both players and staff this summer, the FA will be logging thousands of miles of air travel should England reach the final, and is working hard to ensure the best possible preparation before and during the tournament.
One way they’ve tried to do that is by choosing Kansas City’s Swope Soccer Village as their training base. This state-of-the-art facility is home to Sporting Kansas City II, the developmental team of Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City. It’s not far from England’s cozy hotel, The Inn at Meadowbrook, where the tournament will be held.
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England will make full use of nine full-sized pitches (six of which are artificial turf and three are Bermuda grass fields) at the training ground, which can accommodate up to 1,500 people.
A player who has played through various SKC youth teams and now faces the likes of Lionel Messi in MLS is right-back Jake Davis, who called Swope home for several of his nine years at the club. As someone who knows the ins and outs of the training centre, Davies spoke to Mirror Football about what England’s World Cup hopefuls can expect at their base for up to six weeks.
“England will be especially looking forward to the people here, the facilities and what we can offer,” the 24-year-old said.
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“I have been at this club for nine years and have been through all levels. I was a Swope player, trained there for many years and have been fortunate enough to now move to Compass Minerals. But one of the things I appreciate about our club is that So, our club has been able to grow on its own and build a new training facility, which is great for us. But what’s special about Swope is that it’s a first-team facility. It’s where we used to be.
“As a club, it’s great to have two places we can be. I think the whole of England is here to take advantage of Swope and this is a first-team facility. It’s a tight, close-knit game. It’s great, you’re close to your team-mates. The field is great. I think it’s everything you need to perform at the top level.”
“I think the top teams can take advantage of everything that’s there, and they can take even more advantage of it, especially because it’s all one team’s. When I was there, there were multiple teams. So they’re enhancing everything they can offer so that one team can take it over and make it their own.”
Swope Soccer Village, which first opened in 2007 and was previously used by FC Kansas City of the National Women’s Soccer League and others, is located in the Midwest suburb of Kansas City. England chose it as their training base due to its proximity to the center of their group stage match against Croatia in Texas, before heading to the Atlantic coast to face Ghana and Panama.
Sporting Kansas City’s Jake Davis knows the practice field inside out (Image: Getty Images)
Its location away from the city center will allow Tuchel and his players to escape the fan frenzy in what has been described as America’s “soccer capital.” However, the fact that the facility itself is closed to the public is also a crucial reason why it was chosen, as outsiders cannot see the tactics and penalties being worked on during training.
“The fields have walls and fences and tarpaulins over them, so no one can actually park at the facility and watch the games. It’s a little crazy. It’s all secluded, everything is private. I don’t know where the actual facility is. Or even that location is far from the city. I wouldn’t say it’s in the middle of nowhere, but it’s very secluded compared to where the top teams are here. So there’s nothing to worry about in terms of privacy or what people might see.
“The facility itself is in a quiet area. I think apart from being on the pitch, there’s a lot of open space. I don’t know anyone in the England team. I don’t know what their routines are. But there’s not a lot of outside noise near the facility. There’s not a lot of outside noise near the facility.”
“In terms of putting the blinders on and focusing on what needs to be done and taking a step back from the pressure of being part of the World Cup, I think the players and the staff will have enough space and resources to focus completely on football, but also step back from that and do their own thing. I wish I had known Thomas Tuchel and his habits, but when the pressure is on, that area is very good outside of the game as well.”
The field is home to Sporting Kansas City II of the US football division 2 (Image: NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
It was revealed that the height of the perimeter fence could be doubled to create an even more intimate atmosphere. The weight room in the Swope will be converted into a players’ lounge for England’s stars to enjoy their downtime, and an outdoor gym will be added outside so players can soak up the sun. And there will be plenty of sun.
One of the biggest concerns about England’s ability to survive this summer was not the quality or tactics of their players, but how well they would adapt to the sweltering heat of the American summer. England will have to play in heat of 27-31 degrees Celsius with low humidity during training in Kansas City, and similar temperatures are expected for games in New Jersey and Boston.
The opening game in Dallas will be the toughest, however, with extremely high humidity and temperatures expected to range from 32 to 37 degrees. At last summer’s Club World Cup, an extra three-minute drinks break will be introduced in the middle of each half for that very reason, although it did not make matters any less difficult.
Swope Soccer Village is based in a leafy open space (Image: Swope Soccer Village)
Regarding potential challenges for England, Davies said: “Generally the heat in America is different to the heat in other countries and other continents. No matter where you are in America, it’s going to be hot in the summer. But it’s not the heat that anyone has ever played in. Everyone can deal with it themselves and will adapt to it.”
“Obviously, we saw it at the Club World Cup and it’s going to play out pretty similar to that. But this time at the World Cup, there’s a lot more motivation to get through these things and those are the big factors. I think with the quality of the top teams like England and Argentina and whoever comes in in Kansas City and the American Midwest, they’ll be able to get through it.”
“Listen, I’m not saying it’s not hot. It gets very hot. But you get used to it.”
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