Reports surfaced early this year—including here—that the French World Cup soccer team, Les Bleus, had chosen Babson College as its training site. However, reports out of France’s L’Equipe newspaper this week say it looked as if the team would train instead at Bentley University in Waltham.

And indeed, Bentley announced on March 26 that this would be the case. “Bentley University will welcome the French national football team, l’Équipe de France de Football, to campus this June as its official Team Base Camp Training Site for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The decision positions Bentley and the city of Waltham on the global sports stage as one of the world’s most celebrated soccer teams prepares for the tournament.”

Babson declined to comment on the original reports of the soccer team coming here in January. We reached out again earlier this week for comment on the latest, but did not hear back.

The French Football Federation in January said it had chosen Babson College as its home base for this summer’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. It posted a video showing FFF officials touring the grounds at the Wellesley business school.

Their arrival would have created both excitement and public safety challenges in town.

Les Bleus—led by star player Kylian Mbappé—is set to play Norway at the rebranded Boston Stadium in Foxborough on June 26 as part of the opening group stage World Cup matches.

France and Brazil actually have a friendly match slated for this Thursday in Foxborough.

This article was updated on March 27, 2026 with confirmation from Bentley about the news.