While there will be no official FIFA World Cup base camps set up in New York this summer, there is at least one World Cup squad utilizing the New York City FC training facility in Orangeburg, New York.
The Saudi Arabia national team arrived in New York this week and on Wednesday began training at the City Football Academy in Rockland County as they prepare to compete in Group H alongside Uruguay, Spain, and Cape Verde.
Recently-appointed Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis has his 30-player preliminary squad in NYCFC's facility to prep for the World Cup, but more immediately, to prep for a friendly they're set to play against Ecuador at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
مـران اليوم الأول في نيويورك 💚🎥#معاك_يالأخضر | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/N4spzZRB4n
— المنتخب السعودي (@SaudiNT) May 27, 2026
That Saudi Arabia-Ecuador match is scheduled for Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 pm ET, the first of a handful of pre-World Cup friendlies taking place at the home of Red Bull New York this weekend and next. The Sports Illustrated Stadium friendly slate includes Scotland vs Bolivia at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, June 6, plus Norway vs Morocco at 3:00 pm ET on Sunday, June 7.
Saudi Arabia's official base camp for the World Cup will be Austin, Texas, and specifically Q2 Stadium, the usual home of Austin FC. That stadium will host Saudi Arabia's second pre-World Cup friendly, against the Puerto Rico national team on the night of Friday, June 5.
The brief time training at the NYCFC facility, then the relocation to Texas, is all leading up to the Saudi national team playing its Group H opener on Monday, June 15 in Miami against Uruguay.
No announcements or details from the New York City FC side have been shared at this time as it relates to Saudi Arabia utilizing the club's training facility for pre-World Cup preparations, but you can see the clear markings of the club crest and Etihad Airways branding sprinkled throughout the background of the training and arrival footage the Saudi national team has shared on its social media channels.
It's not clear if this is the one and only national team that will be utilizing the training facility first opened by NYCFC during the 2018 season. New York City FC won't need the space in the near-term, as Pascal Jansen said following the club's last match that he and his players were off until June 18, once the World Cup has begun.
The club's Orangeburg campus is not part of FIFA's big base camp program, but there are a handful of those setting up across the border in New Jersey. Brazil is using the brand-new Red Bull training facility in suburban New Jersey as its base camp, while Morocco, Senegal, and Haiti will also be calling different parts of the Garden State home during the tournament.
