LAWRENCE — Earlier this month, FIFA revealed the match schedule for the World Cup in 2026.

It’s something that didn’t just capture the attention of the soccer community worldwide, but that of those in the Kansas City area. There’ll be games during that World Cup that are held at Arrowhead Stadium, which is home for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. And just down the road in Lawrence, across the state border Kansas and Missouri share, the news represented another step toward realizing the role Lawrence and the University of Kansas could play when the World Cup is held.

Because if chosen, Lawrence and the University of Kansas will operate as a base camp in 2026 for a team that competes in the World Cup. The event will see games held in Canada, the United States and Mexico. And according to Jason Booker, a deputy athletics director at KU, not too many days later they submitted a budget to FIFA that covers what it would cost a team to use Lawrence and KU’s facilities as a base camp.

“In December of ’25 we will get notified if we are selected by a country to come here and what country it is,” said Booker, who is KU’s deputy AD for external affairs and revenue generation. “So, they have to get through World Cup qualifying … and then they’ll show them, ‘Hey, here’s all the options that you have to pick from in host cities.’”

Booker holds a significant place in the effort to bring a World Cup team to the area because he doesn’t just have a role at KU, but the larger community in and around it. Booker is the chair of the Kansas City Sports Commission & Foundation’s executive committee. He’s on the board of directors for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

The collaborative effort, which Booker explained has also included Explore Lawrence, would see KU’s Rock Chalk Park — where the Jayhawks’ women’s soccer team’s home field is and more — be among the facilities a team would use. The budget submission covers fees such as security costs and more. And once more of the details clear up about which team could be coming and more, Booker noted exactly which KU facilities would be used would be more defined.

Booker described the selection process as teams selecting from a kind of brochure with all the possible base camps. The detailed information about KU and Lawrence that FIFA has been made aware of over the course of this process showcase what Booker believes are a number of enticing amenities, including the benefits of a Division I university’s facilities, an infrastructure in Lawrence that can cater to numerous demographics and more. And a team that picks what Lawrence and KU have to offer wouldn’t even have to be a team that plays its games in Kansas City, because the flight options — which include using Topeka — provide avenues to get to either coast.

There’s no guarantee, of course, that what Lawrence and KU could provide is chosen. Booker mused that if there are 48 teams that will compete in the World Cup in 2026, there’ll likely be a number of potential base camp sites for those teams that aren’t selected. But as they’ve continued to work with their partners, there’s a confidence in their efforts leading to a positive conclusion.

“We’re still putting our best foot forward, still trying to cultivate relationships with FIFA,” Booker said. “But I think we’re well positioned.”

Until the decision is made, there isn’t a whole lot else for Booker and the team to do. There could be negotiations about costs, as well as early site visits by teams that are trying to get a feel of where they want to have their base camp. But that’s both because of the aspects that are left in the process and everything KU and Lawrence are already capable of providing.

A representative from FIFA, according to Booker, noted after analyzing the field at Rock Chalk Park that it matches up with any Premier League pitch overseas. FIFA has already come out to Lawrence three times to study what it can provide, Booker explained, including what hosting media at Rock Chalk Park would look like. There are a lot of boxes Lawrence and KU already check.

“It’s, I would say, 98% of the way there,” said Booker, speaking about Rock Chalk Park specifically. “There may be a few tweaks here or there. There’s some security requirements, so while we have fencing out there we’re still working with — will we have to cover the fencing with wraps or do anything to keep, from I guess, a privacy and security perspective? There’ll be some little things like that, but from a pure infrastructure — it checks every box.”

RELATED: Kansas basketball suffers lopsided defeat on road in Big 12 Conference play at Texas Tech

RELATED: Kansas basketball coach Bill Self ejected during Jayhawks’ Big 12 loss against Texas Tech

RELATED: How to watch Kansas basketball play its Big 12 Conference road game against Texas Tech

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Effort for KU, Lawrence to be a 2026 World Cup base camp continues