Australia Chooses Oakland Roots/Soul Training Facility for FIFA World Cup Base Camp

The Australian Men’s National Soccer Team has selected the Oakland Roots/Soul Training Facility, located on Bay Farm Island in Alameda, California, as its official base camp training site for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

However, Football Australia has not yet publicly announced where the hotel will stay during rest periods between training and matches at the tournament.

The training facility is home to USL Championship professional men’s soccer club Oakland Roots Sports Club and USL W League women’s soccer team Oakland Soul. The site features a two-building complex with multiple soccer fields spanning five acres, a performance center and indoor training facilities.

Socceroos Head Coach Tony Popovic confirmed that the Oakland training base in San Francisco Bay Area was its first choice.

“We are delighted to call Oakland, Alameda, the San Francisco Bay Area and California home during the FIFA World Cup 2026,” said Football Australia Interim CEO Heather Garriock. “We look forward to forging close ties with the local community, both on and off the field.”

“We are proud to host such a premier team in the world of soccer,” said Oakland Roots and Soul SC President Lindsay Barenz. “Australia has an incredible fan base, and we look forward to welcoming them to our city and region.”

Australia will compete in Group D at this summer’s tournament with an opening match against the Winner of UEFA Play-off Path C (either Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo) in Vancouver on June 13. They will then take on co-hosts the United States in Seattle on June 19 before ending their group stage campaign with a match against Paraguay at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara on June 25.

FIFA World Cup Preparations

England is the latest qualified nation so far to confirm its base camp for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Other notable base camp confirmations include Germany (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), France (Boston, Massachusetts), Spain (Chattanooga, Tennessee), Croatia (Alexandra, Virginia), Colombia (also Guadalajara), Uruguay (Playa del Carmen, Mexico) and England (Kansas City, Missouri).

Read the full list of confirmed base camps so far here.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which has been expanded to 48 teams, will begin with Mexico vs. South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City, with the final being held on July 19 in New York New Jersey.