Sports Illustrated Mexico reported Monday that Baylor School will be the base camp for the Spain national football team ahead of the team’s opening matches in Atlanta as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The website’s report, which was attributed to Antonio Muelas Aberasturi, a commentator for the Spain national football team on RNE Deportes, states the Spanish team will practice at Baylor ahead of its first two matches in Group H play, which will be against Cape Verde (June 15, noon) and Saudi Arabia (June 21, noon), with both matches to be played in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Neither Baylor School officials or Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s office confirmed the report Tuesday.

The World Cup begins on June 11 and concludes with the finals on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Baylor School has a recent history of hosting international clubs for training purposes. The campus served as a home base for Auckland City FC ahead of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

According to the Sports Illustrated Mexico article, Spain chose Chattanooga as its starting base camp for the World Cup over three options offered by FIFA in the Atlanta area. That included, reportedly, Spain turning down MLS’ Atlanta United, which only made its youth academy field available.

The Sports Illustrated Mexico article also states that Baylor was ultimately chosen due to having a “more controlled and private environment” along with offering “top-notch fields and a secluded setting that facilitates logistics and security.”

The Spain National Team, according to the article, is planning to reside at The Read House hotel in downtown Chattanooga for the length of their stay.

Chattanooga will not be a fixed host city for the entire World Cup, as Spain will concentrate in the cities where they have to play after their first two matches. Spain’s third group stage match will be against Uruguay (June 26, 8 p.m.) at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, featuring 16 cities across the three nations. Considered the world’s most famous sporting event, the World Cup is comprised of 48 teams from 12 groups (A-L).

Spain is considered to be a World Cup champion frontrunner, along with Argentina, Brazil, England and France.

The Spain National Football Team is coached by Luis de la Fuente, while the star-studded roster is led by forward Lamine Yamal and midfielder Pedri Gonzalez, who rank No. 2 and 10 overall, respectively, in the world’s top soccer player rankings by The Guardian.

Spain’s lone FIFA World Cup championship came in 2010 in front of nearly 85,000 fans in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the team defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time with a goal from Andrés Iniesta.

Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.