MEXICO CITY (AP) — mexican best performance in world cup I came on two occasions when tournaments were held. Now, as the country joins the United States and Canada in hosting the tournament for the third time, fans are hoping history repeats itself. And probably more.
To ensure optimal preparation, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) invested 400 million pesos (approximately $22 million) to renovate the training center, known as the Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR) or High Performance Center, which officially reopened on Saturday.
As a player and as the current Mexico coach. Javier Aguirre In 1986, he reached the quarterfinals as part of the national team, matching his performance at the 1970 World Cup. Aguirre will revamp the training center and try to at least match that as a coach.
Mexico will gather players from the domestic league to begin training at the High Performance Center on May 6th. The first match of the World Cup will be the opening match on June 11th against South Africa.
“Build the foundation”
FMF President Mikel Arriola said: “This investment reflects our commitment to the 2026 World Cup. We have built a facility that will provide our national team with the best preparation conditions on par with the world’s footballing powers.” “Holding a World Cup requires raising standards in all areas, both on and off the field.”
The site has been the training headquarters for the Mexican national team since 2003 and has gradually expanded in size over that time, but has never been updated in this way.
“This project also has a legacy purpose. It is aimed at building a foundation that will influence the development of the national team for years to come, and not just for 2026,” Arriola said.
In addition to the entertainment area, senior team accommodation has been expanded from 20 to 45 rooms. There is also a 29-room area for youth national teams.
The biggest change was the construction of a new building to house the new gym, which increased its area from 1,200 square meters to 6,000 square meters. The building also houses medical areas, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, sports intelligence areas, and physical therapy and hydrotherapy facilities.
“There used to be a small gym with a medical area, but it was all demolished to make way for this new building,” said Daniel Garcia, FMF real estate manager. “Everything here is new except for the two machines in the gym.”
The capacity of the cafeteria has also increased from 70 to 210 people.
“The most complicated thing was coordinating all the disciplines, because each discipline asked for a lot of things, trying to be the best in the world, and that didn’t necessarily match the budget, but I think we achieved a great result,” Garcia said.
The training center already had five playing fields: three regulation-sized fields and two smaller ones. One of the fields is equipped with state-of-the-art hybrid technology, like the one recently installed in the factory. aztec stadiumIt has been renovated for the World Cup.
“FIFA staff came to visit and told us that this is a field in all of Mexico, so the people at Azteca Stadium came to get advice,” Garcia said. “After all, we are colleagues and brothers.”
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