Tag: soccer

Atlanta’s World Cup future has finally come into focus with teams now drawn for the group stage. On Friday, hundreds of Atlantans descended on Fadó Irish Pub in Buckhead Village for a party hosted by Atlanta’s World Cup Committee to watch the FIFA Draw announcement at Washington D.C.'s John F. Kennedy Centre, where the qualifying teams were split into four-team groups.

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.

Though it was founded just last year, Decatur F.C., a women’s semi-professional soccer team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, has quickly become a staple of the city’s culture. In its inaugural WPSL season, Decatur F.C. finished second in the Peachtree Division and 16th nationally out of 142 teams. Most notably, Decatur F.C. attracted a crowd of 2,126 fans to its home game against Georgia Impact at Decatur High School’s stadium—setting a new attendance record in the then 26-year-old league.

Atlanta will host eight games including a semi-final, expecting to draw about 300,000 fans and create what Atlanta World Cup Host Committee Chief Operating Officer Georgia O’Donoghue likened to “eight Super Bowls in 39 days.” Here are some of the ways the city is preparing for the epic event.

Atlanta United has had a few kits that nod toward the team's home base. But this year's new secondary kit has the most direct Atlanta connections yet. Called the Resurgens Kit, the jersey was created in partnership with the City of Atlanta and features an abstract phoenix on the front and the official city seal on the back of the neck.

The 404 Kit, which launches Tuesday, is all about the ’90s in Atlanta. And to ensure it told an authentically Atlanta story, the club collaborated on the kit with Atlanta Influences Everything, the creative consultancy and brand behind Atlanta's favorite T-shirt. It features "ATL UTD" in a bold, graffiti airbrush font on a black background, with thick white Adidas stripes on the shoulders and white trim on the sides.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off July 20 in Auckland, New Zealand, and once again, the Americans are favored to win it all. The U.S.Women's National Team enter the fray as the reigning champions, having claimed victory at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, their fourth since the tournament began in 1991. And this year, they’ll be bringing plenty of Peach State pride Down Under: the 23-player roster includes two Georgia natives, defenders Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett.

In July 2020, at 15 years old, Caleb made his debut with Atlanta United 2, becoming the club’s youngest player to appear in a professional game. Less than two years later, he moved up to the main squad, where he’s now the starting left back—and lately, a crucial goal creator.

Dispatches from Atlanta and beyond. Also in this month's edition: Watching the World Cup in Norcross and trans dancers find a home on Cheshire Bridge.

Today, Atlanta United unveiled the 17s’ Kit, a fresh styling that celebrates the franchise’s inaugural design, as well as the supporters—dubbed the 17s—that have cemented the team as an Atlanta institution.