A shipment of equipment belonging to England’s national football team was targeted during transit to their World Cup training base in Kansas City, with authorities recovering most of the stolen items and charging two suspects in connection with the incident.
The theft emerged as an unexpected distraction for the squad after completing an uninterrupted and injury-free warm-weather training camp in Florida.
Team officials discovered that several pieces of equipment were missing upon arrival at their training headquarters at Swope Soccer Village on Friday night.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas confirmed that authorities at multiple levels were involved in the investigation, describing the incident as a “heist in transit of English national team equipment.” He said local, state and federal agencies had coordinated efforts to recover the stolen property.
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced charges against two men, identified as Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal. Both have been charged with receiving stolen property, an offense that carries a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.
According to investigators, the pair had been responsible for transporting England’s equipment from the team’s training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Kansas City. A detective involved in the case recovered property valued at approximately $18,145.41 (£13,530).
Court records indicate that the recovered items included four pairs of football boots valued at £250 each, five pairs of shoes worth £170 per pair, signed England jerseys, a £160 World Cup football and a pair of goalkeeper gloves valued at £120.
Among the more unusual items allegedly taken were two stuffed lions and a Lego model of a Nike Air shoe.
Earlier on Saturday, the Football Association indicated that the majority of the missing training equipment had been returned in time for England’s first practice session at Swope Soccer Village.
Reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson appeared relaxed when discussing the matter and confirmed that his equipment had been recovered.
“Yeah, thankfully. I think they got stolen but we got them back so it’s all good.”
Veteran defender Dan Burn said he first learned about the theft through media coverage and joked that he would have struggled on the pitch without his boots.
“We’ve not made a big deal out of it,” he said. “I’ve got everything I need, so I’m quite happy.
“We know that stuff has been left to the police and as a group we’ve not really spoken about that at all.”
Burn suggested the matter had caused little disruption to the team’s preparations for the tournament.
Asked if the FA had spoken to the players, Burn added: “To be honest, it’s not really been spoken about, so I think that shows for us that they’re not too worried about it as well.
“We’re here to train. The first day out here, so it’s not disrupted our preparation.”
England are scheduled to begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday.
Mayor Lucas praised law enforcement agencies for their swift response and efforts to recover the stolen property.
“I am grateful for the quick work of the Kansas City Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office in resolving an investigation across several states, helping crime victims recover goods stolen in transit, and ensuring the accused will face prosecution.
“Kansas City’s public safety leadership will continue to ensure all are safe and offenders will be held accountable swiftly for any misconduct.”
Prosecutor Johnson also emphasized that authorities would act firmly against crimes involving visitors attending the World Cup.
“Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have travelled here to compete.
“We thank the Kansas City Police Department and our on-call attorneys for their quick work investigating this incident and filing charges immediately. Our office is committed to holding these individuals accountable.”
