Cote d’Ivoire will call Chester home during this summer’s World Cup, it was announced Tuesday by the Philadelphia Union and Philadelphia Soccer 2026.

Ivory Coast selected the Union’s stadium and its training complex as its staging camp, in consultation with FIFA. It’s a logical choice given that Les Elephants begin and end their Group E campaign at Lincoln Financial Field. The team will stay in Wilmington, Delaware.

“When one of France’s all-time great defenders and a 1998 FIFA World Cup champion in Marcel Desailly says the Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has what it takes to reach the last four of this tournament, it’s easy to understand why the Côte d’Ivoire Federation would select such an elite Team Base Camp in the Philadelphia Union’s Stadium,” Meg Kane, Host City Executive/CEO of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, said in a press release. “Côte d’Ivoire was one of two unbeaten group winners that did not concede a goal in its 10 outings during qualifying. This is a team to be reckoned with in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and Philadelphia, Chester, and our entire region love a team to be reckoned with. We welcome Les Éléphants to Philadelphia Union’s stadium as their home away from home and promise to show them the best of what we have to offer during their time here this summer.”

Ivory Coast opens the World Cup on June 14 against Ecuador and will face Curacao on June 25 at the Linc. In between is a trip to Toronto to play Germany on June 20. It will train before and after that opener in Chester at the Union’s campus, one of more than 50 sites across the U.S., Mexico and Canada that visiting delegations can choose from.

The country has a pair of friendlies scheduled in England in March but has not announced World Cup tune-up friendlies for late May or early June.

June 14 is the first of six games that Philadelphia will host in the World Cup, culminating with the Round of 16 on July 4.

The Union’s facilities will be vacated by the first team, with MLS on a hiatus from the World Cup of up to six weeks. The Union play May 26 in Miami, then not again until July 22.

“Hosting Côte d’Ivoire on our campus is a tremendous honor for the Philadelphia Union and our entire region,” Union president Tim McDermott said. “We’ve built one of the most unique sports campuses in North America specifically to support and develop world-class soccer, and there’s no better validation of that vision than welcoming recent African champions to train here. From Chester to Wilmington to Philadelphia, this is an incredible opportunity to showcase the passion, hospitality, and excellence of our facilities and our soccer community on the global stage.”