Four miles from where England will sleep, eat, and prepare for a World Cup, nine people were shot in the early hours of Saturday morning. That's the reality Gareth Southgate's squad will be arriving into when they land in Kansas City on June 13th.
Kansas City Police Department captain Jake Becchina confirmed the shooting happened on Troost Avenue at around 4am. Officers arrived to find a crowd scattering. Nine adults were taken to separate hospitals — all with non-life threatening injuries. No suspects are in custody.
England arrive in under two weeks
The Three Lions are currently in Palm Beach, Florida, putting the finishing touches on their preparation. They beat New Zealand 1-0 in Tampa on Saturday and face Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday before the Kansas City leg begins. Once there, they don't leave — Kansas City is their base for the entire group stage.
Training will be at Swope Soccer Village in the south-east of the city, home to Sporting KC's reserve and academy teams. Argentina and the Netherlands are also based in Kansas City — Argentina using Sporting KC's main facility, Netherlands at the Kansas City Current's NWSL ground. It's a World Cup hub, and now it's a crime scene four miles from the hub's centre.
The FA declined to comment. Whether that's caution or genuine indifference is hard to know at this point. The investigation is ongoing and the area remains under police patrol.
England's group stage odds, their preparation, their mental readiness — none of that changes today. But this is a reminder that the off-pitch environment around a tournament matters, and Kansas City just complicated its own picture before the first ball is kicked.
