Press
World Cup 2026: England lose items worth $18,000 from theft as two men charged
Images
England start their World Cup campaign on Wednesday England had $18,000 (£13,500) of property stolen in a theft from a vehicle that was carrying equipment, according to Jackson County's prosecution office. Two men, Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal, have been charged in connection with the incident, which happened as the vehicle was taking equipment from England's pre-tournament camp in Florida to Kansas City. Despite the incident the Football Association have been clear that nothing was taken that would impact their preparations for Wednesday's opener against Croatia (21:00 BST). Of the property taken, listed in court documents seen by BBC Sport, four pairs of football boots, one football, a pair of goalkeeper gloves and training kit were stolen. Three signed jerseys - valued at a total of $15,000 - were also listed as items taken. It is understood the majority of what was stolen has now been recovered. England's first World Cup training session: What did we learn? Bellingham, but no Guehi - England's expected team The full list of the stolen items is: Four pairs of boots valued at $1,340.60 in total Five pairs of shoes valued at $1,139.50 in total A signed red jersey valued at $5,000 Two white signed jerseys valued at $5,000 each A World Cup ball valued at $214.50 A pair of goalkeeper gloves valued at $160.87 Four navy shirts (no value given) Four pairs of navy shorts (no value given) Four light blue long sleeve shirts (no value given) Four light blue short sleeve shirts (no value given) Two stuffed lions (no value given) Multifunctional power strips valued at $40 A JBL speaker valued at $149.95 A Lego set of a Nike Air shoe valued at $99.99 Salik and Kamal each face one count of receiving stolen property, a class D felony under Missouri law, which carries between one and seven years in prison upon conviction. England defender Dan Burn said: "I've not lost anything personally, we found out from you guys [the media]. "It's with the police now so not sure how much I can comment. It's not really been spoken about, so that just shows for us that they aren't too worried about it - it's not really disrupted our preparations." Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson said: "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." Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas added: "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." World Cup fixtures and group standings How to watch the World Cup on the BBC Everything you need to know about the World Cup