San Diego just scored a World Cup double. Today, Mayor Todd Gloria announced on X that Switzerland and New Zealand have picked the city as their base camps for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, setting up weeks of global attention and a likely summer boost for local hotels, restaurants, and tourism businesses.
Swiss Federation Already Locked In On San Diego
Switzerland quietly made its move weeks earlier. In a Jan. 22 press note, the Swiss Football Association confirmed that San Diego will be the Swiss national team's place of work, retreat, and home during the tournament. Coverage from blue News reports that the Nati will stay at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar and train nearby at the San Diego Jewish Academy, and notes that coach Murat Yakin described the choice as a way to blend seclusion with high-quality training conditions.
Mayor Says New Zealand Is Joining The Party
Mayor Todd Gloria used his X account to break the news that both Switzerland and New Zealand had selected San Diego as their base camps. New Zealand Football had previously been reported as considering several West Coast sites before settling on a final location, and as of today, the federation had not yet issued its own base camp statement. The All Whites' group-stage venues and schedule were laid out by the NZ Herald, which reported that New Zealand will play in Los Angeles and Vancouver during the opening round.
IT’S OFFICIAL — San Diego is the @FIFAWorldCup 2026 Base Camp for🇨ðŸ‡@nati_sfv_asf and 🇳🇿@NZ_Football!
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (@MayorToddGloria) March 3, 2026
Switzerland and New Zealand have chosen us as their home base during the world’s most watched sporting event. #ForAllofUs pic.twitter.com/wGMRZg9Egh
Why Teams Zero In On San Diego
World Cup squads do not just pick a city off a map. Each national team chooses from FIFA's menu of vetted Team Base Camp pairings, which match a hotel with a nearby training ground to create what is meant to be a "home away from home" during the group stage. According to FIFA, decisions typically hinge on the quality of the training pitch, the level of privacy teams can expect and how convenient it is to travel between the base, practice sites and match venues.
What San Diego Can Expect On The Ground
For San Diego, hosting two national sides translates into locked-in hotel room blocks, dedicated training slots at private facilities and a spike in cameras and reporters around the teams' resorts and practice fields. Local organizing groups and tourism partners coordinate security plans, movement for team delegations and any fan access around the base camp sites, and cities often see a noticeable summer lift from team staff and traveling supporters, according to overviews compiled by The World Cup Guide.
Detailed team schedules, media availability and any public viewing opportunities are expected in the coming weeks. Those announcements will spell out exactly where the players will train and when, if at all, fans can catch an open session up close.
