Alexandria, Virginia hosting Al Ain FC’s base camp for FIFA Club World Cup 2025 brought community benefits, global connections, and insights for FIFA World Cup 2026.
This past January, shortly after being sworn in as Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, Alyia Gaskins attended a roundtable meeting for officials of cities designated as candidates to host team base camps for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. As she listened to discussions covering the possibilities, preparations, and implications of hosting—and considering Alexandria was only nine miles from matches set for Audi Field in Washington, DC—it became clear to Gaskins that the community needed to start thinking about how to approach the role of being a base camp city.
This year’s Club World Cup featured thirty-two of the world’s top teams competing in a month-long tournament for the championship trophy and a share of the $1 billion prize pool. Matches were held at stadiums in eleven U.S. cities, with each team requiring a separate base camp in a nearby locale that was close to match venues and capable of providing housing, training facilities, and amenities suitable for top-level talent.
“The team that comes to stay with you is looking for a place that feels like home. And it’s not just about the team. It’s also about the families, friends, and fans,” Gaskins said, recalling the meeting organized by the United States Conference of Mayors. “Everyone who touches the event needs a place that feels like a home away from home.”
FIFA representatives conducted an evaluation process of candidate cities, eventually selecting thirty-four Team Base Camp Training Sites across fourteen states. Alexandria was among those chosen as a base camp destination. Teams then decided their preferred location.
“When I attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, representatives from FIFA talked about the base camp and host city selection process, sharing our proposal with teams, who would then decide where to go,” Gaskins reflected. “We held in the back of our minds that any team choosing us indicated they saw something in Alexandria. That led to excitement. It didn’t have to be the big-name team, just one excited about Alexandria. Now, we have a chance to build community, excitement, and connection.”
Al Ain Football Club, one of the most storied and successful teams in the United Arab Emirates, chose Alexandria. Players and staff would stay at a hotel in the city and hold training sessions at Episcopal High School.
When city officials received word that Al Ain FC had selected Alexandria, they immediately went online to learn about the club. They quickly discovered its impressive history.
Founded in 1968, Al Ain FC has won fourteen Pro League championships, seven President’s Cups, and two Asian Champions League titles. In the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Al Ain FC defeated Argentine giant River Plate before falling to Spanish superteam Real Madrid in the final. Its Champions League victory last year secured qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
Al Ain FC enjoys a strong following in the UAE Pro League and among the several thousand members of the Emirati diaspora living in the U.S. The club and its hometown share a revered sense of community—Al Ain, the “Garden City,” the UAE’s fourth largest city and part of the Abu Dhabi emirate, is the heartland of the nation’s founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Yet, Al Ain FC remains relatively unfamiliar to most casual American soccer fans.
While competing in the Club World Cup and in the U.S. offered Al Ain FC access to new audiences and markets, its goals were less concentrated on commercial appeal than community connection. The experience in Alexandria created a clear example of the value that cities and teams can provide to each other, and the power of sport to connect communities across the globe.
Mayor Gaskins said that since Al Ain FC’s arrival, the city council has received messages from residents, business owners, and community groups sharing their excitement.
