One of the last elements of the All Whites’ Fifa World Cup plan has been put into place.
After a lengthy – and sometimes complicated process – New Zealand Football has confirmed the team base camp for the upcoming tournament. The All Whites will be based in San Diego during the event, around their matches in Los Angeles (June 16 NZT) and Vancouver (June 22 and June 27 NZT).
It’s where the final training foundations will be laid, as the squad will spend more than a week there ahead of their first game. Like most competing nations at this tournament, the team will be based in one city and then travel to the match location one or two days before games. They’ll go by bus to Los Angeles – a two-hour journey along the coast – while Vancouver is a three-hour flight away.
The squad will train at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. The 6000 capacity facility was established in 1961 but has been refurbished and renovated on several occasions since then. Aside from the College teams, it has hosted MLS exhibition matches along with games featuring the all-conquering US national women’s team. It was the former home of the San Diego Loyal, who competed in the USL, the second tier of the football pyramid in the United States and it has also staged Major League Rugby matches.
The announcement of San Diego ends a prolonged search. After the World Cup draw was made in early December last year – placing New Zealand on the West Coast – there were numerous possibilities on the table, including Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Boise and Spokane, as well as multiple options around Los Angeles and San Francisco.
But the All Whites weren’t at the front of the queue, as one of the lowest-ranked teams at the tournament, with higher-ranked sides given first preference. That meant that certain cities were snapped up quickly, while there was a lot to weigh up, from quality of the training complex and field to the vibe in the local area. However, San Diego was always near the top of the list, even if it is further south than other options.
“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,” said All Whites coach Darren Bazeley. “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.”
The city also holds a unique place in Kiwi sporting folklore, from the never-to-be-forgotten America’s Cup regatta there in 1995, which culminated in Black Magic sweeping Stars and Stripes 5-0. It meant New Zealand was just the second nation – across 144 years – to prise the Auld Mug from the United States and was celebrated with a ticker tape parade down Queen St.
For NZF, the final piece of the puzzle will be around a second pre-tournament fixture. They have already locked in a glamour match against England in South Florida on June 7 (NZT), which will represent just the third time the teams have met, after the 1991 series here to commemorate NZF’s centenary.
They are seeking an additional hit out – ideally in the US – if the right opponent and location can be sourced. Before that, the All Whites will have two matches in Auckland later this month, as part of the Fifa Series, which doubles as a World Cup farewell to the team.
They’ll face Finland on March 27 (7pm) – the first men’s UEFA team to play here in more than three decades – followed by Chile on March 30.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.