Online Reporter
ENGLAND’S World Cup kit was rescued hours after the stunned squad discovered: “We wuz robbed.”
Boots, balls, sports gear, massage tables and even coach Thomas Tuchel’s tactics whiteboards went missing.
Thieves plundered a haulage van as the team travelled 1,400 miles from Florida to their new tournament base, Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City. Two people were arrested and helping cops with their inquiries.
Three vans from courier U-Haul were still parked at the £15million Swope facility yesterday, including the one thought to have been raided on Friday night. Police suspect thieves pounced as the logistical team was setting up. But there were also suggestions the van could have been raided before it reached Kansas City.
England mascot Leo the Lion was one of the few items left behind, along with a table tennis table the thieves found too big to steal and a single £130 Trionda World Cup football.
Leo is carried around by the worst-performing player in training as a forfeit.A source quipped: “He’s a key witness to the raid.” The heist sparked panic in the England camp as backroom staff carried out an emergency inventory to find out what had gone.
Players were later reassured their custom-made boots, often bearing their initials and children’s names, had not been stolen.
No elite performance kit was taken, and Coach Tuchel was assured there would be no negative impact on preparations for Wednesday’s opener against Croatia in Dallas.
Sources later confirmed much of the haul had been recovered, saying: “This will not affect us in any way. We remained focused on our goal.”
An insider added: “It’ll take more than a kit heist and weather to put this team off their stride. “They can’t wait to get to work preparing for the Croatia game and will have all the kit they need”.
The squad flew into Kansas City late morning yesterday while some of their kit was driven 21 hours by road from their pre-tournament camp in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Insiders confirmed the heist was discovered at Swope Village which is supposedly shielded by three “ring of steel” cordons, armed guards and drones. FA logistics staff found several boxes missing and alerted police who sent six cars to the scene.
The arrested pair’s identities had not been disclosed last night.
Moves with cross-country firm U-Haul cost up to £745 plus extras for high mileage.
At first it was feared precious personal items had been snatched including skipper Harry Kane’s Skechers SKX 2 Elite boots bearing his “HK” initials, the names of his children — Ivy, Vivienne, Louis, and Henry — plus a St George’s Cross. But insiders later disclosed the haul comprised spare footwear and other training equipment. The stolen footballs were said to be spares used mainly for charity signings — and not the high-end versions used in training.
Hours after the raid, The Sun’s team in Kansas City were still able to drive unchallenged on to the Swope complex, which features state-of-the-art facilities and six training pitches.
A member of staff said police called at the site first on Friday night and again yesterday morning.
Chief security officer Joseph Dudley, who told us he was responsible for securing the site on behalf of its owners, Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City, was tight-lipped yesterday.
He told The Sun:
“I can’t tell you anything. You’ll need to speak to Sporting KC.” Kansas City’s mayor Quinton Lucas appeared to try to shift blame for the security lapse. — Sun.
