England's wives and girlfriends can splash out on £1,126 bottles of Barolo and sip £351 Dom Perignon champagne at jazz clubs in Kansas City – the Three Lions' surprise base for the 2026 World Cup. Thomas Tuchel's squad jet into Missouri on June 13, and while England play no games in Kansas City, the Football Association chose the city partly because locals call it the 'Soccer Capital of America'.
The players' families will stay in the leafy suburb of Prairie Village, famous for upscale outdoor shopping, trendy pilates studios and gourmet juice bars. But when they want nightlife, local reporter and author Nate Bukaty says the city offers more than barbecue – though he insists it's 'the greatest barbecue city in the world'.
“England's WAGs can enjoy £1,126 wine and £351 champagne at jazz clubs in Kansas City, the Three Lions' World Cup base.”
'There's a handful of places to go out at night,' Bukaty said. 'This is a city with an incredibly deep connection to jazz. I believe there was a movement in the early 1900s called the Kansas City Jazz Era. Charlie Parker is from Kansas City. So there are some really cool jazz clubs in town.'
He recommended the Green Lady Lounge and its sister project, the Black Dolphin Lounge, both premier clubs where the drinks menu tops out at a $474 (£351) bottle of Dom Perignon 2013 Champagne. For an even bigger splurge, the Crossroads District's rustic Lazia restaurant offers a $1,515 (£1,126) bottle of Vietti Villero Riserva Barolo 2016.
The quiet Prairie Village enclave where England's stars sleep provides a contrast to the high-end revelries. Matt Besler, a Sporting KC legend, was quoted in the Mirror article, but the text cuts off before his full comments.