The news is officially official. Atlanta is getting the 17th franchise in NWSL history. The league, in conjunction with Arthur Blank, made the announcement on Tuesday night.
At a celebratory event entitled “Empower Her, Inspire All” hosted by Blank’s foundation, the owner responsible for the majority of the growth of soccer in Atlanta laid out his vision for the future.
“We are thrilled to bring a National Women’s Soccer League franchise to Atlanta and Georgia and the passionate soccer fans here,” Blank told the media. “We look forward to working with the NWSL and other club owners to continue building the best women’s soccer league in the world and are committed to creating a world-class organization on and off the pitch. Our clear goal is to compete for championships beginning in 2028 and serve as a source of pride for fans in Atlanta, Georgia and the league for decades to come. Our city and state have a deep passion for the game of soccer, and I know our fans will embrace this club as they have Atlanta United.”
NWSL Atlanta will begin play in 2028. Blank acknowledged that the supporters will help play a part in picking the new team’s name.
It was also confirmed that the team will play their home matches in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. There will be special changes made to the stadium setup to accommodate the women’s team in the next three years. It is expected that the average capacity for NWSL matches at the stadium will be around 28,000, with the capability to increase that number when needed.
While the team will share a home stadium with Atlanta United, they will have a brand new training ground and headquarters built for them.
Arthur Blank’s commitment to doing everything first-class when it comes to his soccer ventures will undoubtedly be applied to NWSL Atlanta.
Three years is a long way away, but we can’t wait to see this thing be built from the ground up. There’s no doubt that every effort will be poured into making this team’s emergence onto the women’s soccer scene as successful as possible.