Scotland World Cup 2026 base camp: Where are Steve Clarke’s side staying in North America?

Scotland's first World Cup campaign since 1998 is edging ever closer, with excitement levels rising by the day across the country.

Ever since the World Cup draw was completed in December, officials at the Scottish Football Association (SFA) have been busy planning logistics for the tournament, including where Steve Clarke and his players will base themselves.

Scotland have been drawn into Group C at the World Cup and have been assigned the Gillette Stadium in Boston for their first two matches and the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for their final group game.

While both host stadiums are on the East Coast of the USA, they are separated by 2,500km, so finding a handy base camp was always going to be a tricky task. What have the SFA come up with? Let's take a look.

Where is Scotland's World Cup 2026 base camp?

In February 2026, the SFA announced that Scotland's World Cup base camp will be in Charlotte, North Carolina. Located on the East Coast, Charlotte is right in the middle of Miami and Boston, with a two-hour flight necessary to get to both locations.

The decision to base themselves between both of their host stadiums is an interesting one, as there was surely the temptation to find a camp near Boston so that they would only have to fly to one of their group matches.

The squad will use MLS side Charlotte FC's state-of-the-art training facility, Atrium Health Performance Park, for training and recovery between matches. Officials have said it's one of the few football-specific training centres on the East Coast, with many of the others multi-purpose.

Charlotte FC today announced the Scotland National Team selected the Club’s training facility as Team Base Camp training site for FIFA World Cup 2026. pic.twitter.com/uCVgDDZsUa

— TopBin90 (@Topbin90) February 17, 2026

The facility has four full-size grass football pitches, one full-size astro pitch, and one nine-aside astro pitch. There are also multiple buildings within the grounds, which contain gyms, a canteen, an auditorium and meeting rooms.

The training facility is also just 20 minutes away from a private airport, which Scotland are expected to use to fly in and out of for their three matches.

Manager Steve Clarke said:

“We are delighted to confirm Charlotte as our training base. “We looked at the FIFA-nominated options – against our own predetermined criteria – and Charlotte FC have a top MLS training facility, with everything we need to prepare for our matches.”

What can Scotland expect in Charlotte?

First and foremost, Scotland players and staff can expect to see some familiar faces. The current manager of Charlotte FC is Dean Smith, who is a good friend of Steve Clarke's and has managed a number of players in the Scotland squad, including John McGinn.

Away from football, Charlotte is far from one of the liveliest cities in the USA, which isn't exactly a bad thing given Scotland are going over to the USA on serious business.

There are still things to do during downtime, though, including the Discovery Science Museum and the Carowinds Theme Park.

Gary Dicker, Charlotte FC's assistant manager, offered some advice to players and families in a recent interview with the BBC. He said:

“You're away for so long, I'm sure most of them are going to come with their families, but there's loads of stuff to do here with the kids. It's a fast-growing city, which isn't too busy, while you're close to the mountains and sea too.

“Even if they do want to go to Disneyland, it's an hour-and-a-half flight to come back and down, it's not far at all.”