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In addition to the six games Kansas City will host in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the region hopes to attract as many as three teams for base camps, but there’s one European power that tops the city’s wishlist — Germany.
“They're in the mix, for sure,” Sporting Kansas City President and CEO Jake Reid, who serves as vice president for the KC 2026 committee, said. “I think we look at it, you want kind of that tier-one country, right? They bring fans. They hopefully have a run out of the group stage. Just the marquee nature of having some of those tier-one countries is important. Germany's in the mix. There are others in the mix. I think we feel really good about all the ones that we're talking to right now.”
Kansas City isn’t ignoring South American national teams or other soccer-playing nations, but Germany, which has reached more World Cup finals than any other country, is viewed as an excellent candidate for a base-camp team.
Compass Minerals National Performance Center, where Sporting KC trains in Kansas City, Kansas, is a crown jewel among U.S. soccer facilities. It’s a possible base-camp location along with The University of Kansas Health System Training Center, the Kansas City Current’s three-year-old training ground, and Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence.
“It's a great place,” Sporting KC midfielder Erik Thommy, a Designated Player from Germany, said. “We have a great facility. We have everything what they need, and they can prepare perfectly for every game, in my opinion.”
Defender Robert Voloder, another SKC player from Germany, said he hadn’t heard about the possibility of Deutschland’s national team basing its World Cup run from Kansas City.
“First of all, I haven't heard about that, so that's new news to me, but obviously a big recommendation for every country to play at our facility,” Voloder said. “... I don't know what I would wish more to have if the German national team wants to be here. I'm going to tell maybe one or two guys that I know to tell the coach that this is a good spot. But yeah, it would be cool to see some Germans here in 2026.”
World Cup qualifying will continue throughout 2025 before teams begin to finalize plans early next year.
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