The Austrian national soccer team was officially announced as the team that will be staying in Goleta and holding practices at UC Santa Barbara’s Harder Stadium during the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament this summer.
After the Goleta city council unanimously approved the plan to host one of this year’s World Cup teams, there was speculation about which team would be staying on the Central Coast. At the time, UCSB athletics representatives had already begun working out the details with the Austrian Football Association (known in German as the Österreichischer Fußball-Bund, or ÖFB) but could not yet reveal the team to the public.
On Friday, the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles confirmed on its social media accounts that the Austrian national soccer team — the Österreichische Fußballnationalmannschaft — will be setting up its team base camp in Goleta starting in June…