The U.S. women’s national team is moving its January training camps to Florida in the wake of the deadly wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles, where 50 players were expected to report next week.
The camps — one featuring senior squad members and another designed for under-23 prospects called “Futures Camp” — will still be be held concurrently but will now relocate to Inter Miami CF’s Florida Blue Training Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, U.S. Soccer announced late Friday. The camps were set to begin Tuesday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“The safety of our players and staff is always our top priority, and with the fires still burning, many areas in a state of emergency, and the air quality next week an unknown, we made the decision to move the camps,” said U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all those affected in Southern California and our sincere gratitude goes to all the first responders and volunteers helping to navigate this tragedy. We also want to thank Inter Miami for accommodating us on such short notice and enabling us to run two training camps in a world class facility.”
Fires in Pacific Palisades and other parts of the L.A. area prompted a state of emergency. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. men’s national team is currently training at Inter Miami’s facility in preparation for their Jan. 18 match against Venezuela at Chase Stadium. The USWNT teams will begin their Florida camps as the men are ending theirs, U.S. Soccer said, with the men’s squad then heading to Orlando to face Costa Rica on Jan. 22.
Update: The 2025 January training camp and Futures Camp relocated to Ft. Lauderdale, FL due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
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— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 10, 2025
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes named the rosters for both the senior and Futures Camp this week. She is keeping with her strategy of seeing as much of the USWNT player pool as she can, especially with a reprieve in the schedule before the SheBelieves Cup next month. The Futures Camp will help Hayes connect with what she called a “lost generation” of players, and the coach will split her time between sessions. Neither camp has any public matches attached to them.
The USWNT are the latest professional sports organization to adjust their plans because of the ongoing threat of the Los Angeles wildfires. The Los Angeles Rams relocated their Wild Card Game against the Minnesota Vikings at nearby SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Soccer stars Carlos Vela and Ali Riley both lost their family homes, while Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was also one of a number of figures from across sports to be affected.
The ongoing fires are one the largest firestorms to ever hit Los Angeles, with firefighters struggling to contain the fires as smaller ones continue to pop up across the area as recently as Friday.
(Top photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
