A few months ago I made a post about how I thought It was pretty ridiculous that there was no FIFA World Cup game being played here in Michigan considering Michigan University's "Big House" is the largest stadium in the country and is practically begging for a huge game like a World Cup qualifier.
Well, it seems someone somewhere heard me (that's what I'm choosing to believe anyway) because FIFA has announced a new wave of locations for teams as their "homes away from home", and two Michigan facilities have found themselves on the list.
As things stand, Michiganders will need to travel to Toronto, CA at Toronto Stadium (BMO Field), to watch the nearest qualifier game take place. However, while the teams themselves will be playing their games there, the teams won't actually be staying there. Instead, qualified/qualifying teams are assigned Team Base Camp locations around the country to live, practice, and prepare for matches.
As it stands 49 potential Team Base Camps around North America are in consideration, two of which are based in Michigan. Metro Detroit/Oakland University and Greater Lansing/Michigan State University are now being considered by FIFA as locations for teams to utilize their facilities when matches aren't being played.
The official Base Camp locations will not be announced until December 2025, so it will be a good while before a real update is given on this proposal, but it's still pretty cool to have Michigan play a role in the World Cup, albeit not on the main stage.
Gallery Credit: Tommy McNeill
Gallery Credit: Tommy McNeill
