Gear from England's World Cup team reportedly stolen while team was en route to Kansas City

Pete Grathoff, The Kansas City Star on Jun 12, 2026

Published in Soccer

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — England’s World Cup team is set to arrive in Kansas City on Saturday and hold its first training session at Swope Soccer Village in the afternoon.

But the “Three Lions” apparently will practice without some of their equipment.

Multiple reports from England said a truck carrying the team’s equipment from Florida to Kansas City was burglarized.

“The theft is understood to have taken place while equipment was being transported from the squad’s pre-tournament base in Florida to their training camp at Swope Soccer Village in Missouri,” the Guardian reported. “Boots belonging to England’s star players were understood to be among the stolen items, along with official tournament balls and training equipment.”

The Daily Mail reports that there was just one soccer ball remaining.

“Sources say only one football was left among the cargo that remained, while there are fears that the boots belonging to the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have also gone,” the Daily Mail reported.

Where the theft occurred was not known, nor how many vehicles were involved, according to the reports.

However, the BBC said: “Police officers, who are in touch with the FA, were on site on Friday night dealing with the matter. It is understood two arrests have been made in connection with the episode.”

It’s unclear if that is in Kansas City.

England doesn’t play a World Cup match in Kansas City but is one of four teams making its base camp in the area. The others are Argentina (at Sporting KC’s facility), the Netherlands (KC Current’s facility) and Algeria (Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence).