The All Whites have confirmed they will be based in Southern California for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, selecting San Diego as their official team base camp.
New Zealand Football have chosen the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium as their training ground, as well as a team hotel close by.
Main photo: Torero Stadium. Photo credit: University of San Diego.
As with most sides at the FIFA World Cup, the team will be based in one city and then travel to the match location one or two days before games.
Ahead of the All Whites opening match against IR Iran on June 16 (NZT) in Los Angeles, California, the team will travel two hours by road.
Vancouver, Canada, the location for the team’s second and third Group G games against Egypt on June 22 (NZT) and Belgium on June 27 (NZT), is a three-hour flight away.
San Diego holds a special place in Kiwi sporting folklore as the city where Team New Zealand claimed their first America’s Cup win in 1995.
All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley said: “Selecting our base camp is a really important part of our preparation for the tournament, so we can make sure the team is in the best place possible on and off the pitch.
“San Diego offers a great combination of the criteria we were looking for, from a really high-quality training pitch at Torero Stadium, to an ideal hotel for the team.
“We look forward to working with the city over the next few months to really get to know the place and hope to have all 1.4 million San Diegans taking us on as their second team.”
Darren Bazeley: ‘Why we chose San Diego’
Warm-up fixtures
The All Whites confirmed last month they will warm up for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with an international friendly against England in South Florida on June 7 (NZT).
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A second warm-up fixture, likely also in the United States, is being explored, NZ Football say.
The All Whites will play games against Finland and Chile in late March at Aucklan’s Eden Park. The games are part of the FIFA Series tournament.
FIFA Series fixtures
Games to be played on Friday March 27, 2026
Chile v Cape Verde
Eden Park, Auckland, 4pm
New Zealand v Finland
Eden Park, Auckland, 7pm
General sale tickets are available through Ticketek.
Games to be played on Monday March 30, 2026
Cape Verde v Finland
Eden Park, Auckland, 4pm
New Zealand v Chile
Eden Park, Auckland, 7pm
General sale tickets are available through Ticketek.
World Cup fixtures
Game to be played on Tuesday June 16, 2026 (NZT)
Iran v New Zealand
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Los Angeles, 1pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Monday June 22, 2026 (NZT)
Egypt v New Zealand
BC Place, Vancouver, 1pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Saturday June 27, 2026 (NZT)
Belgium v New Zealand
BC Place, Vancouver, 3pm (NZT)
This story was first published on March 3, 2025.