While the luxurious Hotel du Pont in Wilmington has attracted a flood of famous visitors over the years, from astronauts to U.S. presidents, hosting soccer stars is the new wave here this summer.
Ivory Coast national soccer team Côte d’Ivoire, nicknamed the “Elephants,” is making a splash after joining the world-class hotel as the squad’s official lodging headquarters for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the biggest soccer tournament on the planet, which runs from June 11 to July 19.
In addition to lodging at the Hotel du Pont, the Ivory Coast will use the Philadelphia Union’s Subaru Park stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, located about 21 minutes away, as their training site during the FIFA World Cup tournament.
The Elephants are on a mission to stampede opponents in the tournament where the team is scheduled to play two matches in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field (temporarily renamed “Philadelphia Stadium” for the World Cup).
The team’s first match is in Philly against Ecuador June 14, followed by a match against Germany at Toronto Stadium in Canada June 20, and then they’re back in Philly when they play against Curacao June 25. The knockout round begins June 28.
High-profile guests like the Ivory Coast national team aren’t just coming to the Hotel du Pont because it’s only a 30-something-minutes-away drive from the Philadelphia Stadium. The soccer stars would also like a relaxing experience at the hotel that received a four-star diamond rating from AAA in 2026, making it the only accommodation in state with this exclusive rating.
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Jeremy Costa, managing director at Hotel du Pont, told Delaware Online/The News Journal that their goal has been to create an atmosphere that’s “comfortable” and feels like home for the soccer stars.
Costa said the Hotel du Pont has worked closely with Côte d’Ivoire representatives to learn preferences and needs of the players. This led the hotel to making sure the Ivory Coast players have “access to their local television channels within guest rooms and dedicated meeting spaces,” Costa explained.
The hotel also has done a little redecorating for the Elephants.
“We’ve also incorporated personalized touches throughout the hotel, including team-branded welcome amenities and décor elements like pillowcases that celebrate the team’s identity and help create a sense of home,” Costa told The News Journal.
When asked about the type of meals Côte d’Ivoire will be served at the Hotel du Pont, Costa couldn’t share any more information “out of respect for our guests’ privacy,” he said.
Jessica Welch, director of Delaware Tourism Office, told The News Journal that the estimated economic impact to the Wilmington area from the Ivory Coast lodging at the Hotel du Pont is about $7 million.
Based on Welch’s calculations, about $4 million is from the soccer team’s stay at the hotel, while close to another $3 million would come from area restaurants and businesses ordering things like extra kegs of beer or more food, and keeping extra staff on the clock, in preparation of serving more customers than usual, she said.
The director of tourism noted that Delaware has historically struggled to attract international tourists because the state lacks an international airport and is surrounded by major cities that do like Philly, Baltimore and Washington, DC.
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But Welch is optimistic that hosting Côte d’Ivoire in Wilmington this summer might make the state more attractive to folks coming from abroad.
“Definitely having the team stay right in the city really helps us to be able to say, ‘Look, we can host international travelers, and we can get them an amazing experience and great time,'” Welch said. “It not only has an economic impact but it also kind of puts us on the map.”
To get to host the Ivory Coast during the soccer tournament, the Hotel du Pont submitted a bid to be considered for the FIFA World Cup 2026’s Team Base Camp program, Costa said. The process took several years and involved a review of facilities, operations, logistics, security and guest experience standards.
The managing director of Hotel du Pont explained that the hotel hosted multiple site visits from prospective participating teams, with each conducting their own assessment of the property and facilities for suitability as a Team Base Camp hotel.
After FIFA’s “rigorous evaluation process,” Costa said, the hotel was informed in the first quarter of 2026 that it had been selected as a Team Base Camp hotel, “marking a significant milestone for both the hotel and the region.”
In November, the hotel hosted the Paraguay national soccer team when the squad played a friendly match versus Team USA at Subaru Park stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. Paraguay lost 2-1.
Costa said having Paraguay as guests was valuable because it’s helped them to refine things like security coordination, operational planning and logistics for hosting Ivory Coast.
“Those lessons have positioned Hotel du Pont to provide an exceptional experience for the Ivory Coast team while continuing our tradition of hosting landmark moments in our community and on the world stage,” Costa explained.
Paraguay has a chance to get even against Team USA during the World Cup tournament when both teams from Group D play at Los Angeles Stadium June 12. But that’s a story for another day.
The managing director of the Hotel du Pont said hosting a FIFA World Cup team in Delaware’s largest city validates what they’ve long known at the hotel.
“Wilmington has the infrastructure, hospitality expertise and strategic location to support major international events,” Costa said. “This opportunity allows us to showcase both Hotel du Pont and the destination on a global stage.”
Costa said he hopes this can create momentum for future partnerships to help organizations and teams realize they “don’t necessarily need to stay in larger neighboring cities to access world-class accommodations and training facilities.”
The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event on the planet. This year’s Super Bowl 60 peaked at 137.8 million viewers, the NFL says, while FIFA reported the last World Cup in 2022 drew more than 1.4 billion spectators.
Meg Kane, host city executive of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, said in February that more than 3 billion are expected to tune into this summer’s World Cup finale.
If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Ivory Coast gets ‘home’ feel at Hotel du Pont for FIFA World Cup 2026
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