England equipment – Kansas City police detained two people after equipment belonging to the England national team was stolen during the team’s move from Florida to its World Cup base in Kansas City. The Football Association confirmed the theft but provided no further details whil
Kansas City woke up to a security headache late Friday night: equipment from England’s national team vehicles was stolen as the Three Lions traveled from a pre-training base in Florida to their permanent World Cup base camp in the Missouri city.
Two people were taken into custody, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department Sgt. Phil DiMartino confirmed. The English Football Association also confirmed the theft to the Associated Press on Saturday, but it could not provide more information because the police investigation is still ongoing.
Mayor Quinton Lucas. who has become the city’s de facto spokesperson for World Cup activities. described what local officials learned. He said that at some point during the over-the-road transport from Florida to the training facility in Kansas City. goods belonging to the English national team were stolen.
Lucas added that public safety officials across local, state and federal levels are working to trace where in the United States the items were seized and identify everyone who may have been involved.
England’s choice of Kansas City as its base is strategic. even though the team does not play group games there. The city’s central location puts matches within easy reach: England’s opening game against Croatia on Wednesday in nearby Dallas is about a 90-minute flight away. while their games against Ghana in Boston and Panama in New Jersey are no more than three hours away. The West Coast is also reachable for possible knockout games.
The Three Lions are training at Swope Soccer Village, where Sporting Kansas City once trained and where the club’s second-division team and academy programs are based. The England flag is already flying at the site, and a sign reads “The Home of England.”
England’s accommodations are also in the area. The team has taken over a boutique hotel in Prairie Village, Kansas.
Sport wasn’t the only thing on the schedule. England was set to hold its first open training session at Swope Soccer Village later Saturday, with the session open to the media and select members of the community. Storm threats could disrupt that plan.
The wider tournament footprint around the area is already set: defending champion Argentina and the Netherlands are also based in Kansas City, while Algeria is in neighboring Lawrence, Kansas.
England Kansas City World Cup Three Lions theft police investigation Quinton Lucas Swope Soccer Village Sgt. Phil DiMartino England Football Association
Why would someone steal team equipment like that??
So they stole England stuff but nobody knows what it was? Sounds like Kansas City always “figures it out later.”
Wait, wasn’t this the same thing that happened with “World Cup” stuff last year? Like I heard it was some fan hustle, not thieves with a plan. If they’re tracing it across the country, that means it could’ve been sold already right?
Quinton Lucas being the spokesperson is probably why it’s a “security headache” like bro just get the cameras and stop the storm from messing up training. If England picked Kansas City because it’s central, guess central also means everybody can reach it lol.