Cincinnati could be a 'home base' for a team playing in the 2026 World Cup. Why it matters

Cincinnati has proven time and time again it can draw crowds for international soccer matches, and local tourism leaders are betting on that reputation to land a monumental tourism event − becoming what is known as a "Team Base Camp" city during the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

Nabbing that honor would draw tourists − and all their spending power − to Cincinnati for up to four weeks.

Exactly how many visitors would descend on Cincinnati depends on what country is matched with Cincinnati. The bigger the country, the more soccer fans that would come. But even a smaller country would be a huge tourism boon because the World Cup lasts a month, longer than typical weeklong conventions.

Cincinnati wasn't given the nod to host World Cup games , but FIFA, the sport's governing body, announced last month the Queen City is in the running to be a Team Base Camp during the prestigious soccer tournament. The chosen cities will serve as bases where teams will eat, sleep and train in between their three group stage matches.

Some teams have already qualified for the World Cup, but it's a long process. So it's unclear when Cincinnati would know if it's been selected or which fan bases might be coming.

"This is a unique opportunity to host teams at our top-tier facilities and deliver against our ambition of bringing the world to Cincinnati and support the continued growth and expansion of the game of soccer," said Paula Boggs Muething, chief legal and administrative officer for FC Cincinnati.

The base camp selection process begins after the final draw in December of 2025 and official visits and inspections are conducted. Assignments will be confirmed in January 2026, she said.

“Even if a city is not staging matches, a participating team coming to stay creates a strong personal bond with the competition for people locally," Heimo Schirgi, chief operating officer for the World Cup, said in a news release where Cincinnati is mentioned as a potential Team Base Camp city. "It will see them adopt their guests as a second team during the tournament, thereby, connecting even more people to the FIFA World Cup.”

Cincinnati is up to the task

Visit Cincy President and CEO Julie Calvert said Cincinnati's tourism industry is already set up to handle a large event like becoming a team base camp.

"We wrap our arms around these opportunities to make them experiences, not just an event," Calvert said. "We believe we are a great soccer city. That was one of the main points we made to host."

Calvert pointed to the FC Cincinnati friendlies as Exhibit A as to why Cincinnati would be a great choice for any country's team.

"When we have friendlies, people come from all over the world," Calvert said. "The stadium sells out. People come here to have a good time and enjoy world-class soccer."

These games offered a glimpse into such crowds:

• July 16, 2016 : Crystal Palace FC vs. FC Cincinnati – English Premier League side Crystal Palace FC marked the first European club to come to Cincinnati for a friendly, defeating FC Cincinnati 2-0. The game's crowd of 35,061 at Nippert Stadium was the largest audience to see a soccer match in Ohio until then.
• Nov. 12, 2021 : Mexico vs. U.S.A . – TQL Stadium served as the frenzied, colorful stage for a 2-0 qualifying victory for the U.S. men's team over Mexico in front of a raucous crowd of 26,000 – the stadium's max capacity.
• July 9, 2023 : Guatemala vs. Jamaica and U.S.A. vs. Canada – TQL Stadium served as the site for a quarterfinal-round doubleheader in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Jamaica defeated Guatemala in the first game while the United States defeated Canada on penalties in the second game. Both matches were in front of crowds of nearly 25,000.

No match in Cincinnati involving an international team has ever drawn fewer than 20,000 fans.

FC Cincinnati Co-CEO Jeff Berding, who is also the president of the Visit Cincy board, said he hopes Cincinnati will be selected.

“This is what we worked for dating back to the bid,” Berding said. “We wanted Cincinnati to be a part of the World Cup. When it was announced we would not be a city, we focused on this.”

Berding said the goal is to bring a larger country to Cincinnati. “There is a potential that tens of thousands of their fans could come to our city. They would stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and if they don’t have a ticket to games they’d be watching the games in our bars.”

In Cincinnati, teams would train at FC Cincinnati's Mercy Health Training Center in Milford, meaning tourism for more than just the urban core.

Cincinnati's German roots

Nobody wanted to speculate on what country might select Cincinnati.

And while it's FIFA who makes the final choice, one possibility would be Germany should the team qualify. Munich is a Cincinnati Sister City and Cincinnati is rich in German history.

Many Germans immigrated to Cincinnati in the 1830s, settling in Over-the-Rhine, which became the center of German immigrant culture. There were German churches, schools and newspapers written in German. The first mayor of Cincinnati was a German immigrant: David Ziegler. Much of the German-influenced architecture remains today.

The Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati works to promote business, cultural, educational, legal and sports exchanges between the cities of Cincinnati and Munich.

Ute Papke, vice president for the sister city association, said it would be "awesome" and like a "national holiday" if the German national team made Cincinnati their base camp.

"I don't think you can go anywhere in this town without running into a German street sign," Papke added.

It is unlikely for the U.S. team to make Cincinnati its base camp since all their group-stage matches will take place on the West Coast.

Which other cities are in the running?

FIFA last month released what's known as the Team Base Camp brochure for the prestigious soccer tournament, which lists 24 "high-grade" locations that could serve as "homes away from home" for the 48 participating teams. It's kind of like an old-fashioned dance card. Countries peruse the brochure, tell FIFA where they'd like to go and the FIFA organizes which country goes where.

Nine cities outside of the 16 selected World Cup cities are among those listed in the brochure. Aside from Cincinnati, the other eight are Chattanooga, Green Bay, Irvine, Louisville, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Westfield. Only Salt Lake City and St. Louis have MLS teams of their own, which offer local fan bases.

The locations of a team's respective group-stage matches will determine which Team Base Camp they choose, with travel and time zones playing significant roles in the decision-making. Cities can still make the pitch to be included in the second round of the brochure, but it's the best teams in the world who know they will qualify that are looking at this first-round brochure.

If Cincinnati is selected, the closest city where actual games will be played is Atlanta, nearly a seven-hour drive away − or a 1⅟₂-hour flight. Other (somewhat) nearby cities include Toronto, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati could be a 'home base' for a team playing in the 2026 World Cup. Why it matters