30.06.2026 18:31
The TFF announced that the Arizona training camp used by the National Team for the 2026 World Cup was determined by FIFA, that changing the camp is not possible for operational reasons, and that all planning during the preparation process was carried out in line with scientific data and FIFA criteria.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has issued a comprehensive statement regarding the public debates on the camp center, preparation process, and tournament performance of the Turkish National Football Team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup journey.
The TFF's statement is as follows:
The performance of our National Team in the World Cup, which they participated in after 24 years, has deeply saddened everyone whose heart beats for Turkey, especially our 86 million citizens living in Turkey.
As the Turkish Football Federation, we sincerely share this sorrow; we wholeheartedly thank our people who never withheld their support from us under any circumstances, all our spectators who made sacrifices to support the Crescent-Stars in the USA and cheered for the National Team in front of their screens in the early morning hours.
We also extend our thanks to our valuable media members who followed our National Team throughout the World Cup camp period starting in Istanbul and continuing in the USA, informed the Turkish public about the National Team's activities, and accompanied us on this journey.
Information About Our National Team's Camp Center in Arizona
During the tournament, numerous news and comments appeared on various media platforms regarding the camp center used by our National Team in the state of Arizona, USA during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the date of their arrival in this country.
This statement has become necessary to eliminate the misinformation created in the public eye by these news and comments, and to ensure the correct understanding of the process.
Camp Center Concept
The Team Base Camp (TBC) concept implemented in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is not merely about choosing a hotel and training field; it is an integrated organizational structure involving security forces, private security, transportation, airport operations, medical facilities, and coordination with local authorities.
FIFA plans this structure with host cities, facilities, and relevant institutions from the very beginning of the bidding process and builds the entire operation within this framework.
In the planning, FIFA divided the camp centers into 3 geographical regions—West, Central, and East—taking into account the cities where the matches would be played.
Selection Rights for 42 Direct Finalists, Notification to Play-Off Teams
The 42 teams that directly qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals were given the opportunity to submit their chosen camp centers via an online system to FIFA after the final draw held in December last year.
Teams competing in the World Cup qualifiers' play-off round were not given the ability to make any selections on this system.
It was stated that FIFA would notify the 6 teams that would qualify for the finals via the play-offs about their camp centers from among the available facilities in the catalog.
From this perspective, it was a known fact from the very beginning that play-off teams would be at a disadvantage regarding camp centers compared to those directly participating in the tournament.
As will be recalled, our National Team went to the 2024 European Championship as group leaders for the first time in its history; they benefited from the pre-selection right and were placed in their first-choice camp center.
Camp Center Change and Risks
Changing the camp center is not a process that can be completed merely by moving to a hotel in a different region.
In case of changes to city, hotel, training facility, airport, etc., new contracts need to be made between FIFA and the relevant facilities, operational planning needs to be re-established, and all processes must be reorganized with local authorities.
Since completing these procedures would take significant time and involve risks, FIFA, considering the current conditions, did not recommend any changes to the Turkish Football Federation.
Although it is known that some teams made hotel changes within the same city after the draw, these changes are seen to have taken place as a result of long preparation processes lasting months.
Only teams that secured direct qualification from mid-November onwards and had time for preparation managed to make changes.
Indeed, none of the 6 play-off winning teams, including Turkey, which had to complete their tournament preparations in a short period of 1.5 months, were able to make changes regarding their camp centers.
It was observed that other teams coming from the European play-offs—Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, and Sweden—were also given camp centers in regions with high average temperatures.
Camp Center Notification and Inspection Visit
Before the European Qualifiers play-off round for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA determined that regardless of which of the four play-off path competitors—Turkey, Kosovo, Romania, and Slovakia—qualified for the finals, Arizona would be designated as the camp center, taking into account the match cities and minimizing travel times. Accordingly, the camp hotel was set as Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West, and the training facility as Arizona Athletic Grounds.
After our National Team defeated Kosovo in the play-off final on March 31 to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, online operational meetings for the play-off teams were held under FIFA's leadership in the first week of April.
In the following week, officials from the Turkish Football Federation conducted an inspection visit covering the camp center determined by FIFA and all the cities to be used for accommodation. Representatives from the National Team's technical staff also participated in this visit. In early May, a second delegation visited to review the final planning for the facilities.
Arizona Athletic Grounds, the training facility used by our National Team throughout the group matches, began operations in 2022 with an investment of 250 million USD. Spread over an area of 1,133 km², it is one of the largest and highest-standard multi-purpose sports complexes in the North American region.
At the facility, 3 fields with FIFA standards and an athletic performance center were allocated for our National Team. The fields, which have the same type of turf used in World Cup stadiums, began preparation months before the start of the tournament under the supervision of FIFA turf experts. After our team's participation was confirmed, a Turkish academician appointed by the TFF regularly monitored the turf according to the technical staff's needs, and the work was completed without any adverse conditions occurring.
However, it can be said that even FIFA did not have extensive options to offer teams training facility choices during the tournament.
In Vancouver, where our National Team played its first group match, due to the lack of facilities capable of serving elite teams, both Turkey and Australia used the same training ground (Killarney Park) at different times.
The camp hotel used by our National Team throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West, was exclusively allocated to our National Team, and since no other guests stayed there, players were able to move comfortably within the facility.
In addition to the amenities offered by the hotel, the Turkish Football Federation rented, at its own expense, the professional performance center belonging to Chicago Cubs, a Major League Baseball (MLB) club located right next to the camp hotel, and made it available to the team. Thus, especially morning strength and indoor training sessions were conducted in a high-level performance center instead of the standard facilities provided within the hotel.
Furthermore, the TFF created additional spaces within the camp hotel to address the social and professional needs of our players. Game areas, special rooms for monitoring performance and recovery processes, and laboratory spaces for daily analyses were established; a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, 'cold room' recovery units, and infrared recovery beds were placed in the camp hotel.
Precautions Taken for Arizona's Hot Climate
During the TFF delegation's reconnaissance visit in April, concerns about the climate conditions were communicated to FIFA, and some changes regarding both facilities and operational processes were requested. However, as previously stated, it was advised that making facility changes was not recommended due to operational reasons.
Assessments made by the FIFA Medical Committee regarding the facility were shared with the TFF, and the camp planning was carried out in light of this information.
Based on these discussions and the TFF's request, FIFA took an exceptional approach and granted our National Team the right to conduct two training sessions in the host city before each group match. Accordingly, our National Team traveled to the match cities two days before the games to adapt to the climate conditions earlier in the morning. This enabled 7 field trainings in Arizona and 6 field trainings in the match cities.
Additionally, our Crescent-Stars team conducted all its training sessions in Arizona during hours when the sun's impact had diminished, in order to protect against the adverse effects of high temperatures. Necessary medical equipment and accessories were also procured to protect players from the heat.
On the other hand, in the eastern and southeastern regions of the USA, although air temperatures are lower compared to Arizona, it has been expressed by both officials and media members that high humidity creates significant challenges for teams in terms of working conditions.
Arrival of Our National Team in the USA for the World Cup
The arrival date of our team in the USA was planned within the framework of sports science. For long-distance travel westward, the general consensus regarding the adaptation of the biological clock suggests approximately one day of adjustment for each hour of time difference. Accordingly, considering the first official match on June 13, our National Team set foot in the USA on June 2, and an adaptation period of 11 days was planned. Similarly, it is known that many European countries transitioned to the United States as of June 2, in line with the player participation date for national teams starting June 1 per FIFA instructions, for their tournament preparations; some teams arrived in the country later.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sportive performance in international tournaments is shaped by the combined effect of many technical, physical, and operational factors. Throughout the World Cup preparation process, the Turkish Football Federation meticulously carried out all its planning within the framework of the FIFA tournament concept, scientific data, and operational requirements; it mobilized all available resources to ensure our National Team could prepare under the best conditions.
The process regarding the 2026 FIFA World Cup camp center of our National Team is as described above, and we present it to the public's knowledge.
Turkish Football Federation