As World Cup approaches, what to know about Algeria’s base-camp setup in Lawrence
Algeria’s men’s soccer team officially chose Lawrence and the University of Kansas’ Rock Chalk Park as its base camp for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in February. The North African nation joins three other countries setting up shop in the Kansas City metro area for the summer tournament.
Here are key takeaways:
- Algeria’s men’s soccer team will train at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence throughout the World Cup, with the team’s selection of the facility announced jointly by Algerian officials and KU Athletics in February.
- The Algerians will play two group-stage matches at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, first facing Argentina on June 16 and then Austria on June 27.
- Algeria becomes the fourth country to make the Kansas City metro area its temporary home, joining England, the Netherlands and Argentina, which will reside in Kansas City proper.
- Before the December World Cup draw, at least four other countries — England, Germany, Colombia and South Korea — had visited and explored Rock Chalk Park as a potential base camp site.
- Lawrence appealed to potential World Cup squads because of its central location, college-town privacy and proximity to The Oread hotel, which FIFA highlighted in its online base-camp brochure as ideal for visiting teams.
- Internationally known crop artist Stan Herd is creating a field-size image of the Algerian flag near the Lied Center on KU’s west campus to welcome the Algerian team to Jayhawk country in early June.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "As World Cup approaches, what to know about Algeria’s base-camp setup in Lawrence."
Shreyas Laddha
The Kansas City Star