The U.S. men’s national soccer team began training this week at its newly finished National Training Center — a $250 million, 200-acre campus with 19 fields in Fayetteville, Georgia, about 30 miles south of Atlanta. The complex, named after Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank, who contributed $50 million to the project, gives the Americans a permanent, dedicated home base as they prepare to host the sport’s biggest event.
Retired striker Jozy Altidore, who played in the 2014 World Cup, visited the facility Thursday and contrasted it with the bare-bones conditions his team endured a decade ago. After practices at Stanford University, he recalled, players recovered in a plastic cold tub placed on a paved path outside Cagan Stadium.
“This is the culmination, right?” Altidore said, according to the Associated Press. “This is what I’m sure past players strived to want to be a part of.”
The federation’s infrastructure has evolved from even humbler origins. Sunil Gulati, who later became USSF president, described an intrasquad game in Colorado Springs in 1985, when the federation bought balls from a Kmart on the morning of the match and field sprinklers activated during play.
The training center’s opening comes just two weeks before the World Cup kicks off on June 11. The U.S. men’s roster, unveiled by head coach Mauricio Pochettino on May 27, mixes World Cup veterans such as midfielder Tyler Adams and defender Chris Richards with a group of first-time tournament players. The squad will train at the Georgia facility before traveling to its group-stage venues.
The Americans were drawn into Group A and will open their campaign on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will be the first to feature 48 teams and is expected to draw millions of visitors to venues across the three nations.