Photograph by AJ Reynolds/Getty Images
On a rainy summer Sunday afternoon downtown, Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the final two games of the 2025 Premier League Summer Season, a tune-up for British teams ahead of the upcoming English Premier League season. The games capped off a summer of international soccer at Mercedes-Benz, another step in Atlanta’s quest to cement itself as the country’s up-and-coming soccer capital.
The Premier League friendlies in New York, Chicago, and Atlanta had no competitive importance, but they helped players get back in shape after a summer break and gave managers a chance to implement new tactics. The games also served as a marketing opportunity for the Premier League teams in America, although concerns about revenue loss from partially-packed stadiums hang over future editions of the preseason series.
Despite large swaths of the black and red Mercedes-Benz seating remaining relatively empty at kickoff, thousands arrived for the day’s opening game between West Ham United and A.F.C. Bournemouth. When the West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring in the 24th minute, a small yet noisy section of fans wearing West Ham’s claret and blue jerseys cheered loud enough to fill the stadium. The fans did so again when Jarred Bowen scored in the 67th minute to double West Ham’s lead, and the game ended 2-0 in the London team’s favor.
Photograph by AJ Reynolds/Getty Images
Thousands more poured into the stadium for the second game of the day between Manchester United and Everton F.C. The game proved to be an exciting matchup between an Everton side that has struggled to remain in the Premier League in recent years and a Manchester United team that finished 15th last season—a long way off from their former days of perennial glory. Tempers even flared late in the second half as Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye shoved each other in the center of the field, distracting fans as United defenders bundled the ball into their own net. Following the own goal, the second game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Like the 70,000 fans who attended Atlanta’s Premier League Summer Series in 2023 (witch featured an appearance from beloved Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almirón, who was still with Newcastle at the time), the games proved there’s an appetite and interest in the Premier League that runs deep in Atlanta. West Ham and Everton fan sections led chants throughout the game, creating quiet echoes of the type of atmosphere produced on the other side of the Atlantic. Local fan groups had the chance to meet with team ambassadors the day before the games, including a visit from West Ham manager Graham Potter at Brewdog Atlanta. But what continually left international teams in awe when they rolled into Atlanta was the city’s show-stopping arena.
Djordje Petrovic, a Serbian goalkeeper who transferred to Bournemouth in June, spent a season with New England a few years back, and the memory of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Atlanta United’s 17s have stuck with him since his MLS days.
“I remember that atmosphere in Atlanta when we played two times against them was amazing,” Petrovic said at a pre-match conference. “The stadium is amazing inside and outside.”
The Premier League managers were equally as impressed with Atlanta’s arena. West Ham’s Potter, who acknowledged that his players are accustomed to playing on the best surfaces in England, called the stadium a “fantastic venue” following their 2-0 win over Bournemouth. Everton manager David Moyes had similar praise for the stadium that is set to host eight FIFA World Cup matches next summer.
“I’ve been to the Super Bowl here, and it’s an incredible stadium,” Moyes said at a pre-match press conference. “I actually thought that this had a good right to probably host the final of the World Cup possibly because of how good the stadium was.”
Ahead of the friendly matches in Atlanta, Joe Prince-Wright wrote for NBC Sports considering whether Atlanta has become “soccer capital of the USA.” With the U.S. Soccer Federation headquarters opening in Atlanta next year and thousands of fans expected to travel to Atlanta for the 2026 World Cup, next summer may turn the tide in the country’s recognition of Atlanta as the center of soccer in the United States.
