Just a decade ago, few might have considered Atlanta, Ga., one of the soccer hotspots of the United States. But in 2026, it’s impossible to separate the sport from the city.

The U.S. Men’s National Team is days away from its first matches of the year against European powerhouses Belgium and Portugal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The next international game at the 70,000+ capacity venue will be June 15 when Spain and Cabo Verde compete in the first of eight 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in Atlanta. While the upcoming USMNT friendlies mark the next step in the team’s journey towards the international tournament, on a larger scale they represent the next chapter of the soccer explosion in Atlanta that started many years prior.

Everything changed in 2014 when Major League Soccer (MLS) announced it had awarded an expansion franchise to the city led by entrepreneur and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The city immediatelywelcomed the team, as it had with previous professional soccer clubs such as the Atlanta Apollos, the Atlanta Silverbacks and the Atlanta Beat.

Atlanta United FC took MLS by storm in its inaugural season in 2017. In its first regular season match, a crowd of 55,297 filled Bobby Dodd Stadium...