2026 World Cup matches will be played in major cities in the US, Canada and Mexico. Each of the 48 qualifying teams will play at least three times, with four to five days in between.
Teams which advance to the knockout stage could play up to 8 total matches. FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, allows teams to pick a base camp, where they train and stay between matches. Traveling fans are also invited to stay in the same cities.
Boise is now among 49 potential base camp cities in the U.S., one of 26 new locations added this month by FIFA. The initial list came out in June, and more potential locations could be added later, but just being on the list doesn’t mean a city will get to host a team.
Visit Boise’s sports sales manager Lucas Gebhart wrote by email that Boise applied to be on that list in August, proposing Boise State’s Boas Soccer Complex as a training site. Boise State Athletics did not respond to a request for comment.
Gebhart thinks Boise could be a great location because of its proximity to multiple World Cup match sites on the Pacific Coast, most of which currently do not also have base camp sites. Other regional potential base camp sites include Spokane and Renton in Washington State, Colorado Springs and Herriman, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.
But it will be a while before Boise knows if it will get picked as a base camp. Qualifying teams don’t find out where they’ll play until December next year.
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