Chattanooga, Tennessee, is one of several cities serving as a base camp for World Cup teams. Spain, a favorite to win the tournament, has chosen to stay at a boarding school on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga. The team is training at the school’s facilities, which include three soccer pitches and a media center.

Local Fans Show Support

Local fans are showing their support for the team, with many wearing Spanish jerseys and attending the team’s practices. Around 25,000 people entered a lottery for 1,000 tickets to watch Spain practice at Baylor School, a private academy in Chattanooga. The city is also showing its hospitality, with a 144-foot underground waterfall lit up in red and the Embassy Suites in downtown Chattanooga adorned with Spanish flags.

One local fan, 8-year-old Beckham, was excited to meet the players and get their autographs. His father, Jaxon McClure, a Marine Corps veteran and soccer coach, said the team’s presence in the city is a great opportunity for local children to learn from the best. McClure, who named his son after one of the sport’s greatest stars, said the team’s choice of Chattanooga as their base camp is meaningful to him, as he grew up playing soccer in the city.

Other Teams’ Base Camps

Other teams are also setting up base camps in various cities across the United States. Iraq is staying in a mountain resort town in West Virginia, while Germany is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The teams will be training and preparing for the World Cup, which is being held in the United States for the first time in 32 years.

Original reporting: KSAT Sports (San Antonio) — read the source article.