ATLANTA (Sept. 3, 2025) — Two players from Atlanta United 2 and seven players from the club’s Academy received call-ups from their respective youth national teams with James Donaldson, Jonathan Ransom and Santiago Pita taking part in the Sept. 1-9 FIFA window.
Donaldson was called up to the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team for a training camp from Sept. 1-8 in Fayetteville, Georgia. The goalkeeper has just signed his first professional contract with ATL UTD 2, and is set to become a Homegrown signing on Jan. 1, 2027. With the Atlanta United Academy, Donaldson earned seven clean sheets in the 2024-25 season and was awarded the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award at the Generation adidas Cup in the spring.
Pita was called up to the U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team for a training camp from Sept. 1-8 in Fayetteville, Georgia. The forward has made six appearances with ATL UTD 2, notching two assists. Pita has been called up to the youth national team prior to his window, previously representing Venezuela in the July window and the United States in May, where he won the UEFA Friendship Cup alongside Atlanta United teammates Dominik Chong Qui, Kaiden Moore and Braden Dunham.
Ransom was called up to Canada’s U-17 Men’s National Team for a training camp in Spain from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10. Canada will face Morocco on Sept. 4, Uzbekistan on Sept. 6 and England on Sept. 9. The Academy goalkeeper has made eight appearances with Atlanta United 2 this season, earning three wins.
The Academy also saw many players called up, all in the United States youth system. For the U16 team, Fred Bond, Joshua Brown, David Ilevbare and Kai Martinez were each called up. Blessed Chea and Santi Suarez were called up to the U-15 team.
The Atlanta United Academy season will kick off this Saturday, Sept. 6. Atlanta United 2 (7-8-8, 31 points) returns to action Saturday, Sept. 13 when it travels to Carolina Core FC at Truist Point Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass). Some ATL UTD 2 matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app while the remainder of matches are streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
