There is a nickname for the vast expanse that runs through the central belt of the United States: the American Heartland. And over the past half-decade, the sporting pulse of this nation has beat loudest in Kansas City.

Spearheaded by Travis Kelce, the local American football team built a dynasty: the Kansas City Chiefs reached five Super Bowls in six seasons, winning three, and establishing an era of dominance rarely seen in American sport.

So perhaps it should come as little surprise that England chose this slice of the Midwest as their base for the World Cup. Not only does it offer a convenient launchpad for their Group L games in Dallas (90 minutes by plane), New York and Boston (both around three hours).

But, as Thomas Tuchel’s team chase a first major tournament win in 60 years, why not set up camp in a city that where glory has become part of the local cuisine? If only it were that simple.

Unfortunately, the Chiefs collapsed this season, missing the NFL playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Even as they cemented the city as a sporting epicentre, even as it became a second home for Taylor Swift, violence and tragedy cast a long shadow: the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade in 2024 descended into carnage after a mass shooting left one person dead and injured 22 more. Just months later, a bullet lodged in the office of Chiefs coach Andy Reid while he worked.

So why have England chosen the Midwest and what can England players expect from their World Cup base?

Kansas City is rare among American cities because it sits on the border of two states: a river runs through downtown and acts as the dividing line between Kansas and Missouri. Despite the name, the city is part of the latter state.

This is a place synonymous with sport, jazz, barbeque and, in recent years, the world’s most famous couple.

Swift is a regular in the posh seats of Arrowhead Stadium, the fearsome 76,000-seater home of the Chiefs that will host six games this summer including a quarter final and Argentina’s clash with Algeria.

It is widely considered one of the loudest atmospheres in the NFL and it dwarfs Kauffman Stadium – home to the Royals baseball team – which sits just down the road.

Since the 1994 World Cup, soccer has barged its way into the city’s consciousness, too. So much so that Kansas City likes to call itself the ‘Soccer Capital of America’. Not that you would know it with a glance at the standings of Major League Soccer.

Last season, Sporting Kansas City finished bottom of the Western Conference and had one of the lowest average attendances in MLS (around 16,000). It was a rather different story in the National Women's Soccer League, where the Kansas City Current finished top in the 2025 regular season.

Their CPKC Stadium claims to be the world’s first purpose-built arena for a women's professional sports team and last year they made NWSL history by selling out every one of their home games. Star Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is an investor in both the Current and Sporting KC.

So Tuchel’s players won’t go unnoticed and they will be made to sweat, too. In June, temperatures in Kansas City usually reach around 30 degrees and during the 2024 Copa America, an assistant referee keeled over and fainted during Peru's clash with Canada. Such were the hot and humid conditions at Sporting KC’s Children's Mercy Park.

At least it will act as decent preparation for the sweltering temperatures elsewhere around North America. 

But few other cities will offer barbecue joints like Kansas City. Among the favorite haunts? Joe’s, Slap’s and Q39. There are plenty of bars in areas such as Westport, too.

And what of their chances of bumping into Kelce or Swift? Well, the Chiefs player lives in a $6million (£4.5m) mansion in Leawood, one of Kansas City’s plushest neighbourhoods. But in late 2024, Kelce and Mahomes were both burgled within hours of each other.

Thieves reportedly got away with $100,000 (£73,600) worth of jewellery and the jersey Kelce wore in his first ever Super Bowl. The crimes were part of a nationwide spree targeting many top sports stars – often while they played. Chiefs star Jaylen Watson suffered a break-in last month and problems here spread beyond burglary.

Kansas City had America’s fourth-highest crime rate in 2024, according to FBI data on murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. There were 144 homicides in a city of around 2m people; by comparison, police in London (10m people) recorded 97 killings in 2025.

The city’s sports stars have not been immune from the violence – in February 2024, the Chiefs were celebrating a second consecutive Super Bowl victory when a dispute escalated and shots were fired. 

A local radio host was killed and 22 people were injured. Amid the carnage, then-Chiefs player Clyde Edwards-Helaire protected a young boy who had become separated from his father.

Just weeks later, legendary NFL coach Reid was working in his office at the Chiefs training base when gunfire rang out once more. Three bullets hit the building, with one piercing the glass of Reid's office and lodging into a wall around 15ft from where he was sitting.

The three-time Super Bowl winner was unharmed. The hope for Tuchel and his players? They leave Kansas City unscathed and with a trophy of their own.