The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) announced today that it has selected Austin as its base camp during FIFA World Cup 2026 this summer. Between its group stage matches against Uruguay (June 15 in Miami), Spain (June 21 in Atlanta), Cape Verde (June 26 in Houston), the Saudi Arabia Men’s National Team will temporarily reside and train in Austin.
The SAFF selected Austin from a FIFA pre-approved list of potential base camp host sites after Austin FC entered into a hosting agreement with FIFA, which granted FIFA the rights to exclusively designate any participating nation to base its training in Austin. This will mark the second time that the SAFF will visit Austin, after playing a Concacaf Gold Cup match against the United States there in June 2025.
Saudi Arabia is among Asia’s most successful national teams. The Green Falcons have won the AFC Asian Cup three (3) times and have qualified for the FIFA World Cup on 7 of the last 9 occasions, upsetting eventual champions Argentina in the group stage in 2022.