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North Texas soccer fans got a clearer sense of World Cup base camp plans and group-stage match schedules on Tuesday.
At the beginning of March, officials from the North Texas World Cup organizing committee announced FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium in Frisco and Mansfield Stadium would serve as the primary training grounds for two European teams determined by the results of play-in matches. The group-stage match schedule has also been up in the air, with the final spot in Group F and a June 25 matchup at AT&T Stadium (renamed Dallas Stadium for the tournament) against Japan depending on the results.
Those results came in on Tuesday as Sweden overcame Poland in a 3-2 thriller in Stockholm to earn the Group F berth. Now set to play Japan in Arlington, the team will train at Toyota Stadium and stay nearby at The Westin Stonebriar Golf Resort & Spa. Czechia is also headed to the region after defeating Denmark in a penalty shootout. They will stay in the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel while training in Mansfield.
North Texas is set to host nine matches, the most of any host area during the tournament’s 39-day run, including a semifinal and at least two matches featuring Lionel Messi’s Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions. Despite the number of matches being played in an area advertised by FIFA’s camp catalog as “centrally located and well-connected via two international airports,” none of the 42 teams already qualified for the tournament had chosen North Texas for training grounds.
Along with excitement at Arlington, Frisco, and Mansfield’s sporting venues, Dallas will host training sessions for visiting teams at SMU and the Cotton Bowl the week before their matches at Dallas Stadium. The Cotton Bowl previously hosted matches during the 1994 World Cup. Dallas is also set to host a fan festival at Fair Park, which organizers estimate could draw more than 1.5 million fans during the tournament.
The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19.
What is a Base Camp?
Base camps serve as a team’s designated base of operations for the duration of their World Cup run. A base camp typically comprises a separate training facility and nearby lodging — mostly five-star hotels. The U.S. team will be based in Irvine, California, during the tournament.
As previously reported by The Athletic, FIFA has strict requirements for base camps. Playing surfaces must be natural grass of a species approved by FIFA, mowed in either latitudinal or longitudinal stripes, and bordered by benches 23 to 26 seats long. Training facilities must have at least eight showers, a massage room that can fit up to four people and two interview rooms with “no external noise.”
Toyota Stadium’s facilities include seven sand-drained fields, eight natural grass pitches, and “elite performance and recovery amenities,” according to a release.
Mansfield Stadium is being built for North Texas Soccer Club, an FC Dallas affiliate, and will have a seating capacity of over 7,000 when completed. The grounds will have “team-specific areas with immediate pitch access” for the Czech team, according to the FIFA catalog.
Hopefully, the Swedish players are golf fans, as the Westin Stonebriar comes complete with an 18-hole championship golf course designed by noted course architect Tom Fazio, a TopGolf indoor simulator and four PGA-certified instructors, according to its website.
Can I Watch Training?
It remains to be seen whether a few training sessions will resemble a Cowboys camp with open practices.
FIFA regulations require a security barrier at least eight feet tall at each training ground. However, England, Argentina, the Netherlands and Algeria have announced plans to hold community training sessions open to the public, as have officials in Houston.
