Forty-eight national soccer teams have descended on North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Spain, the reigning European champions, picked one of the more unexpected spots to set up shop: Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city of roughly 180,000 people that is now hosting one of the most decorated squads in international soccer history.
La Roja arrived in Chattanooga around June 5, settling into The Baylor School as their training camp base. Their first group-stage match against Cape Verde is scheduled for June 15 in nearby Atlanta, giving the squad about ten days to acclimate, train, and try whatever Chattanooga puts on a restaurant menu.
Why Chattanooga, of all places
The choice is more strategic than it looks. Chattanooga offers something that Miami, New York, or Los Angeles simply cannot: privacy. A mid-sized Tennessee city isn’t exactly crawling with paparazzi, and the relatively low-key setting lets players focus on preparation without the circus that follows them in European capitals.
That said, the city has not exactly played it cool. Videos of Spain’s motorcade rolling through Chattanooga went viral, racking up 8.6 million views on X.
