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Spain’s World Cup win spotlights Chattanooga as training base

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / The Spanish national soccer team won the World Cup on July 19, 2026, after a month spent training in Chattanooga. Spain's Lamine Yamal exits the Embassy Suites as the team leaves for Los Angeles on June 30, 2026. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / The Spanish national soccer team won the World Cup on July 19, 2026, after a month spent training in Chattanooga. Spain's Lamine Yamal exits the Embassy Suites as the team leaves for Los Angeles on June 30, 2026.

By Times Free Press Staff July 21, 2026 8 min read

When Spain won the World Cup on Sunday, Chattanooga won a title of its own as the chosen training base camp for the top sports team in the world.

The victory was a bow on top of a hosting experience local officials have celebrated as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city to show off its hospitality on a global scale.

Chattanooga officials plan to use the new status to attract more sporting events, team hosting gigs and even business development to the city.

“We’re going to leverage what we’ve accomplished, and we’re going to find that next opportunity, whatever it may be,” Tim Morgan, president of the local Sports and Events Corp., said in a phone call. “We’re going to leverage our success as a host destination to a World Cup champion.”