GREENSBORO, N.C. — We’re another day closer to the start of the FIFA World Cup. It will be held across North America this summer. Three teams, Germany, Norway and Scotland, will hold their base camps in North Carolina, including two in the Triad.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us to have this caliber athlete on our athletic fields,” Sports Field Supervisor at UNC Greensboro Matt Kirkman said. “It’s one of the biggest honors of our careers.”
UNC Greensboro is making final preparations for the Norwegian National Team ahead of the World Cup. Team Norway will use UNCG as its base camp for the tournament. Crews spent Wednesday mowing the grass and used 5 to 10 gallons of paint to get the pitch ready. Kirkman says they’ve prioritized making sure everything is right.
“I’ve been on this field every day for the past probably eight months,” Kirkman said. “I’ll walk it every day and just kind of look around and make sure everything’s OK or look at what we need to do next.”
Richard Beard, with the Greensboro Sports Foundation, says the nonprofit worked with FIFA to help bring Norway to Greensboro. He says officials from six different countries initially considered the city’s bid due to the area’s rich soccer culture and facilities.
“They kind of came to us saying that we were on their radar,” Beard said. “Then it was a matter of the community coming together and working in partnership.”
Beard estimates it will have a $5 million impact on Greensboro and the surrounding area. He says Norway listed the city as its top choice.
“Norway saw Greensboro as not only a very green city, which was important to them, but they wanted a lot of natural settings that make them feel at home,” Beard said.
Wake Forest University, in conjunction with the Graylyn Estate, will serve as a base camp for the German Men’s National Team. Germany will play the U.S. in a friendly match this Saturday in Chicago.
UNCG Men’s Soccer Coach Chris Rich believes having World Cup teams in North Carolina will help improve the popularity of the sport.
“I think it’s just going to continue to grow the game of soccer in our community,” Rich said. “There’s certainly a buzz around Greensboro with Norway coming to town.”
Germany will hold an open practice at Wake Forest Monday, while Norway will hold one next Wednesday. Organizers say they’ve received more than 20,000 ticket requests for Norway’s practice. The opening round of the World Cup kicks off June 11.