SANDY, Utah (KUTV) — While Utah won’t be hosting any games in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Wasatch Front will play a role.
The Real Salt Lake stadium in Sandy will serve as the base camp for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are scheduled to compete in Group B against Canada, Switzerland, and Qatar. Head Coach Sergej Barbarez said BiH will go straight to Toronto from St. Louis for their first World Cup match after a warm-up game against Panama.
After its opening match against Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina will then head to Utah to set up base camp for the remaining two Group Stage games in Los Angeles and Seattle.
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Salt Lake was added as a base camp option for visiting teams in June 2024. It will provide Bosnia and Herzegovina with a centralized location to train and rest between games.
“Our goal was to reduce the number of flights and avoid additional fatigue due to time differences,” said Barbarez during a press conference, per local reporting from the Sarajevo Times.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup marks Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second World Cup appearance. The team qualified for the global tournament after overcoming Wales and Italy in UEFA play-offs.
Bosnia and Herzegovina last qualified for the World Cup in 2014, where they were eliminated in the group stage after back-to-back losses to Argentina and Nigeria to open the tournament in Brazil. It was not a complete loss for BiH, however, as the team claimed a 3-1 win over Iran as they bowed out.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to begin with the Group Stages on June 11. Knockout games are scheduled to begin June 28, leading to the World Cup Final on July 19 in New Jersey.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to play its Group Stage opponents on June 12, June 18, and June 24.
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