Jessi Rae Morton, News Editor 

With the Winter Olympics and Paralympics recently concluded in Milan, many sports fans, athletes, and media outlets are already turning their attention to the next international sporting event: the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

The World Cup is an international football tournament featuring teams chosen during a three-year qualifying phase. The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the United States, marking the third time Mexico has hosted World Cup games. World Cup matches taking place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, will feature men’s teams, and the Women’s World Cup will take place in 2027, hosted by Brazil. 

While the FIFA World Cup is considered the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, it may not immediately seem relevant to North Carolina, but this year is different. Because the tournament is being hosted in cities throughout North America, many national teams find themselves in need of “base camps” with training facilities and airport access. Three national teams have selected cities in North Carolina. 

Norway’s national team will train at UNC Greensboro. According to an announcement by the university, “The Greensboro Sports Foundation led the local organizing committee in partnership with the City of Greensboro, UNCG, and the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. UNCG’s world-class training facilities, proximity to downtown Greensboro, and access to Piedmont Triad International Airport were key factors in Norway’s decision, which identified Greensboro as the top choice for its Team Base Camp.” 

Norway’s World Cup schedule begins in June. They will face the winner of Pathway 2 in the FIFA Playoff (Bolivia, Surinam, or Iraq) at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on June 16th. Then, they will face Senegal in New Jersey on June 22nd, and France on June 26th back in Massachusetts. These matches will determine who they face next. 

The German national team will be based in nearby Winston-Salem at Wake Forest University. According to a report from Wake Forest News, “Germany is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the sport, having won FIFA World Cup titles in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014. The team is led by Coach Julian Nagelsmann, widely regarded as one of the most innovative coaches in international soccer.” 

Wake Forest News summarized the German national team’s schedule, writing that “Germany is scheduled to open group play on June 14 at the Houston stadium, followed by matches at the Toronto stadium on June 20 and at the New York/New Jersey stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on June 25.” 

Additionally, on February 17, 2026, Charlotte FC announced that Scotland’s national team will be using the club’s east Charlotte facility as their team headquarters. Charlotte’s Major League Soccer facilities and proximity to the airport were factors in the decision, but as reported by WCNC Charlotte, there are also personal connections between Charlotte FC and Scotland: “Club Technical Director Tommy Wilson began his career as the Football Development Officer for the Scottish FA, and Director of High Performance John Currie spent more than a decade in Scottish football with Celtic FC and Heart of Midlothian FC.” 

Scotland’s World Cup schedule includes a June 13th match against Haiti and a June 16th match against Morocco, both at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, followed by a match against Brazil in Florida on June 24th. 

The 2026 match schedule is available on FIFA’s website, including ticketing information and more details about who Norway, Germany, and Scotland may be preparing to face during their time in North Carolina. The World Cup Final will take place in New Jersey on July 19, 2026. 

As WCNC reports, “Charlotte will not host any World Cup matches this summer, but the city will serve as the site of the United States Men’s National Team’s penultimate tune-up before the tournament. The [US Men’s National Team] will face African champions Senegal on May 31” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. 

Headline photo from UNCG.