This match, one of two Copa América fixtures in the city, is the latest in a steadily-growing string of signposts marking Atlanta’s dramatic emergence as a soccer capital. A region once miles removed from the sport’s mainstream in the United States is now more like a centerpiece.
ATLUTD have topped the MLS attendance rankings since they first took the field in 2017, thanks to large, lively MBS crowds that powered the Five Stripes’ runs to the 2018 MLS Cup and 2019 US Open Cup trophies. United’s ability to connect with broad swathes of the region’s diverse, booming population and reflect the city’s rich cultural tapestry has made the club a unifying experience for thousands of residents, many of them new arrivals in search of community.
“You just feel the energy from the city about soccer, and that’s a really good feeling when you’re coming in to play such a big game,” said Turner. “People really do care, they care about the result, they care about how the team is performing. They know the players and all that stuff; feels really nice. You’re not getting random questions in the elevator about what college you play for, what sport do you play. People are aware of what’s going on and that’s a really good feeling.”
The Benz has clearly made an impression on global footballing figures as well. FIFA president Gianni Infantino attended last week’s solid-out Copa América opener at MBS between Argentina and Canada, and the awe-inspiring venue will host eight World Cup matches in 2026, including a semifinal, a number second only to AT&T Stadium in Texas.
National teamers like Turner also know they’ll be getting to know the capital of the South even better in the coming years.
In April U.S. Soccer broke ground on a massive new headquarters and training complex in suburban Fayette County, about 25 miles south of downtown Atlanta, the federation’s first-ever such facility. Scheduled to open in 2026, the 200-acre project will eventually involve upwards of $200 million in investment, with more than a dozen fields, over 100,000 square feet of indoor playing spaces and more than 200,000 square feet of locker rooms, meeting rooms, offices and other high-performance infrastructure.
Made possible by a $50 million contribution from ATLUTD owner Arthur Blank, the U.S. Soccer National Training Center bears his name as a result. With that all-encompassing home base for all the US national teams that USSF has never had before, some players and staff are already preparing to put down roots in Georgia.
“Atlanta is a progressive city. I think the training center is going to be in a perfect place for all of us,” said USMNT winger Tim Weah on Tuesday. “We’re all pretty much East Coast boys. So I see myself in the future kind of investing in Atlanta as well, either getting land out here, building a house, so that my family can be close when I come back to visit –”
“For his music career,” interjected Turner with a grin as he sat next to Weah.
“That’s not a bad call,” noted the Juventus man and New York native, whose residence in The A would represent an arrival of soccer royalty in the region. He’s an outstanding player in his own right and his father George is a living legend, the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year and president of Liberia – one of several African nations with sizeable expatriate communities in and around Atlanta – from 2018-24.
