Why Atlanta is a Soccer City

By Demetrius Bell

Published May 19, 2025
Last Updated June 5, 2025

Artículo disponible en español.

Atlanta lives and breathes soccer. From packed stadiums to buzzing pubs, grassroots leagues to global tournaments, the city has built a soccer culture that’s as passionate as it is diverse. What was once an underground scene has exploded into the mainstream, turning Atlanta into one of the most exciting soccer cities in the world.

Atlanta United’s record-breaking crowds and early championship success proved that the city was more than ready for the beautiful game. Supporters brought an energy that rivaled any sports atmosphere in the country — and global soccer took notice.

Now, Atlanta is a top destination for the world’s biggest matches. In the summers of 2025 and 2026, the eyes of the soccer world will focus on Atlanta as Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But for those who’ve followed Atlanta’s rise, it’s no surprise. The city isn’t just hosting the game — it’s helping define its future.

Atlanta United

Atlanta United emerged as an expansion club and began playing in the MLS in 2017. The Five Stripes hit the ground running with a barrage of momentum as they routinely sold out games at Bobby Dodd Stadium while the finishing touches were being placed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

Once Atlanta United moved into its permanent home Downtown, the team took both the city of Atlanta and the MLS by storm. Atlanta United made the playoffs in its first season and then went even further in the next two seasons. Playing before a crowd of 73,019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (a crowd that ended up being around 3,000 fans larger than the crowd that showed up for Super Bowl LIII in the same stadium two months later), Atlanta United reached the top of American soccer and became MLS Cup champions for the 2018 season. The team followed this up in 2019 by winning the U.S. Open Cup and defeating Mexican champions Club América in the Campeones Cup. 

Atlanta United reached these dizzying heights while playing in front of the largest crowds in MLS. In fact, the Five Stripes have led the MLS in attendance for every season since entering the league in 2017. Atlanta United games are some of the most highly attended games in the world.

The various supporter groups for Atlanta United keep the energy high in the world-class stadium for home games as they chant, cheer, wave flags and display tifos for every single match.

Due to the team being relevant on the pitch and the fans’ unrelenting interest in the club, Atlanta United also receives far more coverage from local news outlets than other MLS teams receive in their respective cities. Not too many MLS teams can lay claim to being big enough to warrant having a beat writer on the local news and segments on sports radio – Atlanta United is an exception to this rule. 

Cheering on European Soccer from Atlanta

While Atlanta United’s popularity may have been surprising to observers from outside of the city, the team’s presence in the city served to galvanize local soccer fans and bring what had been an underground culture of fans to the forefront of Atlanta’s sporting experience. Soccer fans in Atlanta don’t just support Atlanta United – they also fervently support teams from abroad. If you go to bars such as Brewhouse Cafe, Fadó Irish Pub and Hudson Grille on a Saturday morning match day or on Boxing Day,in particular, it’s a guarantee that you’ll find the pub full of excited fans watching the games. Nearly every Premier League club has an officially recognized fan club in Atlanta, and you can also find fan clubs for teams in Spain, Germany, Italy and France.

Brewhouse Cafe recently was elevated to “world-famous” status. The popular Men In Blazers soccer podcast recently went on a quest to find America’s best soccer bar. Naturally, their journey eventually brought them to Atlanta and, after sharing that journey with their listeners (to the tune of 23,000 votes for 300 nominees across 50 states), one thing became evident: America’s best soccer bar was Atlanta’s own Brewhouse Cafe.

Fútbol in the A

Mexican soccer fans have routinely made their presence felt in stadiums across the city. In 2022, Club América and Chivas de Guadalajara played a “friendly” edition of the heated Súper Clásico rivalry in front of a large and passionate crowd at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Mexican National Team has routinely played games in front of massive crowds in Atlanta since 2009 and have played both friendly and competitive matches here in Atlanta in the past.

In fact, “El Tri” played a game against Nigeria in Atlanta in March 2014 that drew more than 68,000 fans to the Georgia Dome. A month after that, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced that his bid for the MLS expansion team that would eventually become Atlanta United had been accepted. Local fans in Atlanta had proven that after supporting teams from out of town for so long, they were ready to support a team of their own in order to truly put Atlanta on the map as a soccer city. 

Soccer for the People Around the City

Atlanta’s love for the sport doesn’t just limit itself to the stands, the seats and the pubs. Indeed, Atlantans and people all over the metro area are keen to play the game themselves. One of the top organizations for players who want to get on the pitch to kick the ball around is Sons of Pitches FC. The group offers “friendly, welcoming vibes” for all players. The organization serves as a way to meet fellow enthusiasts of the game in order to connect people from all walks of life. The result is that no matter if it’s just a random pickup game or an organized league, the group works to ensure that it’s welcoming to all people so that the game is as diverse as the city itself. 

The Soccer In The Streets program has also played a major role in helping bring the game to areas of the city that wouldn’t normally have access to it. The Station Soccer collaboration between Soccer In The Streets, Atlanta United and MARTA resulted in multiple soccer pitches being created at various MARTA train stations across the city. The goal is to eliminate transportation as one of the barriers for playing soccer at a grassroots level, whether it’s as a youth player or as an adult trying to get into a recreational league. As soccer continues to grow in popularity and participation, Soccer In The Streets and Sons of Pitches FC are both doing their part to make sure that the game continues to grow. 

2025 FIFA Club World Cup

The eyes of the soccer world will get an eyeful of Atlanta during the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup. The best teams that world soccer offers will descend upon the United States in the Summer of 2025,,and Atlanta will host international powerhouse clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and Inter Miami. Our city could have even more teams show up for the three knockout stage games that Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host during June and July. 

Premier League

The Premier League is set to make what will be its second trip to Atlanta for its annual Summer Series in the United States on Aug. 3. Manchester United is one of the world’s most popular soccer clubs and it will get the chance to experience playing a match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during this summer’s doubleheader.

2026 FIFA World Cup

During the Summer of 2026, the Men’s FIFA World Cup will come to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium for eight of the 104 World Cup matches that will take place across three countries.

Home of the US Soccer Federation

While there’s no guarantee that the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) will play World Cup games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026, the USMNT’s road to the World Cup is guaranteed to go through Atlanta. The US Soccer Federation became so convinced of Atlanta’s credibility as a soccer city that it decided to build its first-ever National Training Center and Headquarters in the Atlanta metro area in nearby Fayetteville. 

Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank made a $50 million contribution to US Soccer, which made it possible for the training center to be built. This will be the official headquarters for the men’s team and serve as the headquarters for all 27 US national soccer teams – including the four-time Women’s World Cup winners, the United States Women’s National Team. Atlanta will officially be the home away from home for the best players that this country has to offer.

Atlanta is Soccer

At this point, it’s clear that Atlanta doesn’t just love Atlanta United. Atlanta loves the sport of soccer in general, and with all of the big events and competitions that this city has hosted in the past and will host in the future, soccer’s feelings for Atlanta are 100 percent mutual. It may have been hard to envision 10 years ago, but now the rest of the world will see how Atlanta really and truly is a soccer city.  

Don’t miss a beat as you start planning for the big games.