Supporting the England Men's Senior Team at FIFA World Cup 2026
A FIFA World Cup is unlike any other sporting event. With matches spread across a vast geographical area, thousands of miles between host cities, rapidly changing operational requirements and intense global media attention, every detail must be planned and executed with precision.
Discover how Travel Places supported The Football Association (The FA) in delivering the complex travel and operational logistics behind a World Cup campaign, ensuring players, staff, stakeholders, suppliers and equipment were in the right place at the right time, allowing everyone to focus on success both on and off the pitch.
The tournament in numbers
Air Miles
Room nights booked
Ground movements
Match Venues & Basecamps
Days on site
Items moved
The Challenge
For The Football Association (The FA), success at the World Cup relied on far more than what happened on the pitch. Behind the scenes, staff, suppliers, stakeholders, friends and family, and support personnel needed to travel, stay, work and operate seamlessly across the United States throughout the tournament.
Travel Places was tasked with supporting The FA before, during and after the tournament, providing strategic planning, operational delivery and financial management across multiple workstreams. From evaluating potential host and basecamp cities to coordinating travel movements during the knockout stages, our team became an extension of The FA's operational department.
The mission: every person, every piece of equipment and every supplier in the right place, at the right time.
Our Approach
Preparation for the 2026 World Cup began many years in advance - long before the opening match. We worked alongside The FA, supporting an extensive programme of site inspections and operational planning across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Our team researched, booked, managed and attended visits to potential host cities, stadiums, training facilities and accommodation options, helping The FA assess solutions against the team's exacting operational requirements. This early groundwork created a detailed understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by each location.
Managing Complex Stakeholder Travel
As the tournament approached, our focus shifted to detailed operational delivery. Working closely with The FA's Team Operations department and stakeholders across the organisation, we developed and managed travel plans for those supporting the campaign both inside and outside the core travelling delegation.
This included:
- international travel to and from the United States and Mexico
- accommodation in match host cities
- travel between tournament locations
- overflow accommodation for core and departmental staff
- visa and official documentation management
- supplier travel and logistics.
By centralising planning across multiple departments, we created consistency, efficiency and clear oversight throughout the tournament.
Delivering on-the-ground-operations
Once the team arrived in the United States, Travel Places provided hands-on operational support throughout the tournament. Our team set up and managed the pre-camp hotel, team base camp and match host city hotels.
We coordinated transportation requirements outside FIFA's provision and worked across departments to ensure essential equipment and sundries were available when needed. In close partnership with The FA's Kit and Logistics team, we helped ensure critical items reached the right location at the right time.
While supporters saw a team preparing for the next match, our operational teams were continually working several moves ahead, readying future accommodation, transport and supplier arrangements before they were required.
Preparing for Every Possible Outcome
One of the most complex elements came during the knockout stages, when every fixture could mean either progression to the next host city or the end of England's campaign and a return home. Travel Places developed a minute-by-minute operational plan for both outcomes.
In the event of a loss, arrangements for departure were needed to return players, staff, friends and family to the UK while coordinating the movement of de-rig suppliers from the UK to the United States. In the event of a win, the team and wider operation needed to move on to the next host city sometimes within hours of the final whistle. These detailed contingencies meant critical decisions could be activated quickly and efficiently, whatever the result on the pitch.
Managing the Final De-Rig
Our work did not finish with the final whistle. At the end of the tournament, Travel Places remained in the United States to oversee the de-rig of the base camp. Working with suppliers travelling from the UK and the appointed logistics partner, we coordinated the packing, labelling, inventory and return of kit and operational equipment to the UK.
Alongside the operational programme, we managed the budget and payment of relevant suppliers outside FIFA's provision, overseeing a multi-million-pound spend with robust financial control and supplier reconciliation.
Managing travel across multiple host cities demanded detailed planning, strong supplier relationships and the flexibility to adapt quickly, helping players and staff stay focused, prepared and performance-ready throughout the tournament.
Melanie Failes, Head of Events
The Result
The FIFA World Cup 2026 represented one of the largest and most complex operational projects delivered by Travel Places. Through meticulous planning, close collaboration and on-the-ground expertise, we helped The Football Association create the operational environment needed to support its tournament campaign. From the earliest site visits to the final supplier de-rig, our team provided continuity, expertise and reliability at every stage.
World Cup success is often measured by what happens on the pitch. Behind every training session, team arrival, hotel check-in, equipment delivery and stakeholder movement, however, was a dedicated operation working to keep the campaign moving.
For Travel Places, supporting The FA at the FIFA World Cup 2026 was more than a travel project. It demonstrated how strategic planning, operational excellence and trusted partnership can support performance on one of sport's biggest stages.
World Cups are built on the dedication of those working behind the scenes. From the earliest planning stages through to the final de-rig, Travel Places provided outstanding support to The FA and consistently went above and beyond to help us deliver a complex operational programme. Their team brought professionalism, attention to detail and a genuine commitment to our objectives.
Emily Webb, Lead England Men’s Senior Team Manager