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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Joey Lynch

A base to call home: finding the perfect Socceroos World Cup camp is no easy feat

Mitchell Duke of the Socceroos warms up during a training session at Perth Stadium
Mitchell Duke warms up during a training session at Perth Stadium. The Socceroos are searching for a base camp for the 2026 World Cup. Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Home is where the heart is, or at least where there is a good brew and a comfy bed. And with the 2026 World Cup six months away, key Socceroo figures have spent several weeks deep in a process that often flies under the radar but could be a secret ingredient in their quest to do something special: finding their home away from home for the global footballing showpiece.

Alongside the rest of the qualified nations, Australia submitted their preferred options for a North American base to Fifa earlier this week, with the governing body expected to assign base camps using a criterion of geography and world rankings by the end of January. Drawn to play games on the west coast, this means that Australia has 16 regionalised camps in the official Fifa brochure to consider. But they’ll also sit behind host nations the United States and Canada, as well as higher-ranked Switzerland, Belgium and Iran in the pecking order.

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