{"id":180321,"date":"2026-02-16T17:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180321\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T17:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:16:08","slug":"harbor-bay-training-facility-to-be-base-camp-for-australian-national-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180321\/","title":{"rendered":"Harbor Bay Training Facility To Be Base Camp for Australian National Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s national men\u2019s soccer team, the Socceroos, will make the Oakland Roots and Soul Soccer Club training facility on Bay Farm Island their official Base Camp site for the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122.<\/p>\n

\"Alameda<\/a>A view of the field. Image from the\u00a0Oakland Roots Facility Rentals 2024 Presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Socceroos, coached by former player Tony Popovic, will take on the UEFA Path C winner in Vancouver on June 13, then face the U.S. Men\u2019s National Team in Seattle on June 19, before returning to the Bay Area to close out their group against Paraguay on June 25 at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara. The Australian national team has qualified for seven FIFA World Cups, including each of the last six tournaments.<\/p>\n

Popovic, who played for the Australian team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, said he is looking forward to making Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area home, calling it the team\u2019s \u201ctop pick,\u201d according to the team\u2019s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Oakland training base is ideal for our needs, and we are looking forward to making it our home throughout the FIFA World Cup,\u201d Popovic said. \u201c\u2026The facility is elite, and the training pitches are fantastic. The local community, including everyone at the Oakland Roots and Soul Soccer Club, has been very accommodating and a pleasure to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popovic went on to say, \u201cOur team includes staff with previous World Cup experience who understand the importance of selecting the right base camp. A lot of work has gone into the selection process.\u201d He noted that team staff will come back to the Harbor Bay facility in March to finalize details ahead of the team\u2019s arrival in Alameda.<\/p>\n

Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft<\/a> extended a warm welcome to the team, saying, \u201cWe are so incredibly proud to be hosting such a prominent team in our city ahead of the biggest tournament in the world. We have been thrilled to be the home training base of Oakland Roots and Soul for almost five years and are excited to now welcome Australia to this fabulous facility and to our island.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roots and Soul President Lindsay Barenz added, \u201cWe are proud to host such a premier team in the world of soccer. Australia has an incredible fan base, and we look forward to welcoming them to our city and region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Football Australia Interim CEO Heather Garriock agreed that making the Harbor Bay facility their home base was a good choice. \u201cWe are delighted to call Oakland, Alameda, the San Francisco Bay Area and California home during the FIFA World Cup 2026. We look forward to forging close ties with the local community, both on and off the field,\u201d she said. \u201cMost importantly, [Popovic] and his high-performance team are pleased with the selection. Having Oakland confirmed as our official base camp provides the players with a first-class environment to prepare for the rigors of a World Cup. \u2026\u201cThere are many synergies between the city of Oakland, the broader San Francisco Bay Area and the Socceroos. We look forward to building a lasting partnership and enjoying the passionate backing of Oakland Roots and Soul, and the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee<\/a> called the Australian national team\u2019s choice of the Roots and Soul training facility\u00a0as a home base for the 2026 World Cup \u201ca proud moment for Oakland and the entire East Bay.\u201d Lee said, \u201cI\u2019m excited they\u2019ll be preparing for the world\u2019s biggest tournament at this world-class facility, and so proud of the Oakland Roots and Soul and their partnership with the city to bring this incredible opportunity to our region\u2014Oakland is on the move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alameda County Board of Supervisors President David Haubert\u00a0echoed the sentiment. \u201cI\u2019m honored to have our County selected as a home base site for the Australian national team,\u201d he said. \u201cOakland Roots and Soul have been a beacon of community-driven impact in Alameda County.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s national men\u2019s soccer team, the Socceroos, will make the Oakland Roots and Soul Soccer Club training facility…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5445,2351,85591,85592,143,145,144,8450,84389,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-180321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-alameda","9":"tag-barbara-lee","10":"tag-bay-farm-island","11":"tag-marilyn-ezzy-ashcraft","12":"tag-oakland","13":"tag-oakland-headlines","14":"tag-oakland-news","15":"tag-oakland-roots","16":"tag-oakland-soul","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}