Inside U.S. Soccer’s Brand New Training Center That Opened Just Before the 2026 World Cup
The state-of-the-art facility is the new home for all 27 of the country’s national teams.
Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Why Trust Us?
Less than five weeks before the United States hosts the biggest soccer tournament in the world, the country’s governing body finally opened a place to call home. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center near the town of Trilith, just south of Atlanta, was held earlier in May, just in time to welcome the U.S. Men’s National Team before they begin their campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup next month.
Earlier this week, the USMNT arrived in Atlanta after the team roster was announced, and the team will continue to train in Georgia through May 30, prior to a friendly against Senegal on May 31 in Charlotte. Players will return to Atlanta to train from June 2-4, before traveling to Chicago for the send-off match against Germany. They will then move to Great Park in Irvine, California, home of the USL’s Orange County SC, which was designated as the USMNT’s World Cup training base. The team will play its World Cup opener June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
For the team’s coach, Mauricio Pochettino, the opening represents more than a logistical upgrade. It’s also a little about playing catch up with the rest of the top teams. “This is one of the most unbelievable training centers in the world,” Pochettino said in a statement. “Every country that has won the World Cup has a facility they are able to call home, and now we have a base where all our national teams can develop in a world-class environment. For sure, this is a massive step forward for the future of soccer in the United States.”
The USWNT, meanwhile, is preparing for the 2027 Women’s World Cup next summer, striving for an unprecedented fifth championship. In prepared remarks, head coach Emma Hayes framed the facility’s opening as a momentous turning point for the women’s program in particular: “It makes me happy to think about all the young female players who will come through this facility, feel so valued, and make core soccer memories that will be so important to their growth as people and players.”
Room to grow
The training center, two years in the making, will now serve as the permanent headquarters for all 27 U.S. national teams—from the senior men’s and women’s sides to the extended Paralympic and youth teams. “Several factors led to the selection of the greater Atlanta area as the home of the National Training Center,” Tom Norton, the National Training Center’s general manager, tells T&C, “including a climate that supports year-round play, access to a major international airport and a vibrant metro area with a strong sports culture, innovative business environment and high quality of life for U.S. Soccer staff and partners.”
Privately financed with a number of corporate sponsors, the project was primarily backed by a $50 million lead gift from Arthur M. Blank, an Atlanta-based businessman and philanthropist who co-founded The Home Depot. He’s also heavily involved both in the Atlanta sports scene as well as domestic soccer, being an owner in the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL, Atlanta United of Major League Soccer, and the new Atlanta NWSL expansion team debuting in 2028.
As seen in the video below, the facility sits on a 200-acre patch of land, with 123 acres currently developed and room to expand. It encompasses 17 outdoor playing surfaces—13 regulation-size natural grass fields, two artificial turf fields, and two sand pitches for beach soccer—along with two indoor playing surfaces, including a 115,000-square-foot indoor turf training facility and a full-size futsal and power court. The indoor building totals more than 400,000 square feet and houses a 10,000-square-foot high-performance gym, 20 locker rooms, 19 meeting rooms, and dedicated office space for all U.S. Soccer staff.
It also houses the Kang Women’s Institute, funded by Michele Kang, a businesswoman and philanthropist who owns multiple women’s soccer teams in the U.S. and Europe, including the Washington Spirit. In April 2025, Kang invested $25 million in U.S. Soccer for the development of the women’s game, particularly with research concerning women’s health. That was on top of a previous $30 million investment Kang made with the federation in 2024 to further professionalize women’s and girls’ soccer in the United States.
Norton says that the training center’s performance spaces and technologies will help generate data and insights for the Institute that could better inform objectives such as training methodologies and injury prevention. “In practice, that means integrating research, performance, recovery, coaching, player development, and athlete care more directly into the day-to-day environment of U.S. Soccer’s women’s programs,” Norton explains, noting that many of these groups have traditionally operated in silos. “The goal is not only to elevate U.S. Soccer’s own sporting operations, but also to help advance the broader women’s game by sharing learnings, best practices, and research across the global soccer ecosystem.”
Below, take a closer look inside the new training center, the advanced facilities, and what they promise for the future of these athletes.
The Yazdani Family Plaza outside the National Training Center, which features 4,000 custom bricks displayed across the space. More than 1,100 trees and 20,000 plants and shrubs were planted across the broader site as part of a landscape design chosen for both aesthetic quality and functional use by players and spectators.
Defender Auston Trusty seen in front of the training center.
The entryway of the National Training Center, designed to resemble a college quad rather than a corporate headquarters, encouraging gathering and connection among the athletes and staff who will use it daily. More than 350 U.S. Soccer employees will be on site daily, with more than 215,000 visitors anticipated annually.
The building was designed with accessibility as a stated priority. It features a continuous surface throughout for full wheelchair accessibility, elevated wheelchair viewing decks, tactile and audio-visual design elements, and dedicated charging rooms for power soccer chairs. Locker rooms for disability-focused squads were built with lower benches and lockers.
Forward Haji Wright and defender Alexander Freeman inside one of the fitness centers.
The high-performance gym at the National Training Center, a 10,000-square-foot training space equipped for sports science, strength and conditioning, and athlete recovery. The facility is designed to give players, coaches, and support staff access to advanced performance data and world-class equipment under one roof. ŌURA, the wearable health technology company, is among the founding partners of the facility along with long-term U.S. Soccer sponsor Nike.
Goalkeeper Chris Brady trains with Sílvia Viñas, a strength and conditioning trainer, and the only officially registered female member of the USMNT coaching staff in its history.
The 115,000-square-foot indoor artificial turf training facility, one of two indoor playing surfaces at the National Training Center. The space allows national teams to train year-round regardless of weather conditions and is among the largest dedicated indoor soccer training facilities in the country.
A view of one of the trophy cases on display at the training center.
The USWNT’s four World Cup trophies on display in the atrium for the ribbon cutting ceremony on May 7.
The outdoor natural grass playing fields at the National Training Center, which will serve as the primary training surfaces for the USMNT and USWNT.
Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and forward Alex Zendejas during drills on the pitch.
The USMNT and coaching staff on the pitch one day after the World Cup roster was announced.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.
Readers Also Read
Sebastian Berhalter Is Always Doing Extra Work
Is Everything You Know About Sun Exposure Wrong?
How to Gift a Cologne He’ll Actually Wear
This Made-For-Dads Workout Blows Up Your Arms
