Torero Stadium Packed for New Zealand Training Session
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off today. Billions of people from around the world will tune in over the next month, and this year the University of San Diego will have a role in the event that captivates so many.
USD is the training site for the New Zealand Men’s National Team.
Wednesday, USD opened Torero Stadium to more than a thousand people who saw New Zealand gear up for the group stage in the team’s only public training session. The field, meticulously cared for in the lead up to the team’s arrival, looked pristine, and the atmosphere was more akin to a game than a practice. “Oohs” and “aahs” echoed around Torero Stadium as fans got an up-close look at world-class athletes.
The training session started slow, with stretches and some drills, but quickly intensified with an 11-on-11 scrimmage. The 2026 World Cup is spread out across Northern America, and tickets are going for hundreds of dollars or more. But Wednesday at USD, San Diegans of all ages got a taste of the grandeur of the World Cup for free, right in their backyard.
Registration for the event was full in a matter of hours, said USD Deputy Athletic Director Jessica Goerke. And the training session was nearly a year in the making.
USD had been identified as one of a handful of sites in San Diego suited to host a World Cup team, Goerke said.
FIFA officials met with San Diego and USD leaders, and toured the campus to ensure that it met their needs – pitch quality, security requirements and the facilities to host a team for upwards of a month. Once they saw USD could support a national squad, they added it to a list of training locations supplied to the tournament field. From there, several national soccer federations reached out to USD before submitting their choices to FIFA.
That’s when USD and New Zealand were matched.
“Our proximity to Los Angeles, I think, was particularly appealing to them,” said Goerke. “The fact that our campus is very secure, it’s gorgeous, and also a temperate climate. All that made USD a good fit for New Zealand, and was why they eventually put us forward as their training site.”
“When we can offer a free opportunity like this – during the workday for USD staff, an event where people can bring their families, it’s an opportunity to share our gratitude with the campus and the San Diego community.”
USD is consistently ranked among the most beautiful campuses in the country, but its selection here also validated years of hard work by Athletics to raise its profile and provide elite sports facilities. Now, that hard work’s paid off, and USD is part of the World Cup.
“It ties in with USD’s strategic plan. We’re an anchor institution, and see ourselves as a global institution, and this reflects that,” Goerke said. “We’re hosting an international team at the highest level of international sport – the World Cup.”
The USD community will get a chance to cheer on the New Zealand National Team soon. They kick off group play Monday in Los Angeles, with a game against Iran.