Atlanta United FC

At the time the team was announced, Atlanta was the largest metropolitan area without an MLS franchise.[3] Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank's AMB Sports and Entertainment Group had submitted a bid for an expansion franchise in 2008,[4] but withdrew the bid in early 2009 due to state and local government budget shortfalls and Blank's inability to find partners to build an appropriate stadium for the proposed team.[5] On July 10, 2010, Dan Courtemanche, MLS's executive vice president of communications, said that despite the bid withdrawal, regular discussions with Blank regarding Atlanta's potential as an expansion market were occurring.[6]

On May 31, 2011, the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers were sold to True North Sports & Entertainment, who announced that they would relocate the team to Winnipeg and rebrand as the Winnipeg Jets.[7] The Thrashers' relocation helped restart the efforts and talks of bringing an MLS expansion team to Atlanta.[8]

In May 2012, while the Falcons' proposed new stadium was going through the approval process, MLS commissioner Don Garber cited Atlanta as one of three "intriguing" markets for future league expansion.[9] Additionally, when Blank presented his case for a new stadium at the Falcons' annual meeting with season ticket holders, he stated that an additional benefit of the new stadium was that it could help attract a Major League Soccer franchise and potentially host World Cup matches.[10] Later that year, in November, Garber said that if the Falcons could complete plans for a new stadium, MLS would "try to figure out how an MLS team could be part of their plans."[11]

Rich McKay, Falcons president and CEO, said in 2013 that the team was "open to various options, including [its] ownership of a team or someone else owning a team".[12] Dan Courtemanche said, "We are big believers in the Atlanta market," and cited the city's growing Hispanic population and corporations that could serve as its sponsors.[12] Then, in March 2013, the city and the Falcons agreed to financing terms,[13] and in May 2013, the Georgia Department of Economic Development board approved $30 million in bonds to finance the land purchase for the new stadium.[14] The stadium was set to open in 2017 and could be configured for professional soccer.[12] Atlanta remained at the top of the list for an MLS expansion team, as Garber, in the December 2013 MLS State of the League address, emphasized that it was a goal to continue to expand in the Southeast, and added, "if we can continue to advance our discussions positively with Arthur [Blank] and the [Atlanta] Falcons, we hope to be able to get a situation finalized so that could potentially be our second team. Orlando being the first, maybe Atlanta or Miami would be the second or the third."[15][16] In December 2013, Garber said the league was making progress in discussions with the Falcons and that the stadium situation was finalized.[17] Negotiations continued, as Courtemanche said in January 2014 that Atlanta "remains a great prospect for MLS expansion,"[18] and in February 2014, Rich McKay confirmed the parties were "far along in negotiations."[19]

On April 16, 2014, Blank announced that MLS had awarded an expansion franchise to his group, and the team would begin play in 2017. Atlanta became the second franchise awarded in the Southeastern United States in five months, following the Orlando City SC announcement in late 2013. The Southeast had been without an MLS team since the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny were dissolved in 2001.[20]

Atlanta's first regular season MLS game was played on March 5, 2017 at Bobby Dodd Stadium with 55,297 in attendance. Yamil Asad scored the first goal in team history in a 2–1 loss to New York Red Bulls.[21] A week later, the team registered its first win with a 6–1 away defeat of fellow expansion team Minnesota United FC.[22] On March 18, 2017 the team registered its first win at home, beating Chicago Fire, who went down to ten men in the eleventh minute, 4–0 in front of a sold-out Bobby Dodd Stadium.[23] Following its move to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the team continued leading the league in attendance and averaged more than 48,000 in its home league matches, breaking records for attendance for a non-doubleheader MLS game and average single-season attendance for a U.S. soccer team. Atlanta clinched a berth in the playoffs, becoming the third MLS expansion team to do so in their inaugural season, by finishing tied for third place in the Eastern Conference; due to tiebreaking rules Atlanta was seeded fourth. In its first playoff game, the team faced Columbus Crew and set a then-MLS attendance record for a playoff game with 67,221 spectators in attendance. After 120 minutes of scoreless action, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out, which Columbus won 3–1 to eliminate Atlanta.[24]

Josef Martínez was MLS MVP as Atlanta won the championship in 2018

In their second season, Atlanta finished second in the Eastern Conference as well as the Supporters Shield. The club qualified for the playoffs for the second year in a row, advancing to MLS Cup 2018 after beating New York City FC and New York Red Bulls. In the final on December 8, the team beat Portland Timbers, bringing the city of Atlanta its first major sports championship since MLB's Atlanta Braves won the 1995 World Series.[1] The win qualified Atlanta for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, marking the first time Atlanta qualified for continental competition.

The win also allowed Martino, who had announced earlier in the season that he would not return for the 2019 campaign, to end his two-year tenure on a high note.[25] Josef Martínez was named league MVP,[26] while Martino was named Coach of the Year.[27]

In the second edition of the Campeones Cup, Atlanta defeated Club América 3–2, winning the trophy and becoming the first club from United States to defeat a Mexican side in the cup match.[28]

Tata Martino left the club following their MLS Cup triumph in order to take over as manager of the Mexico national team. He was replaced by Frank de Boer. De Boer led the club to wins in both the US Open Cup and Campeones Cup, but after beating the New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union in the MLS Playoffs, Atlanta United were eliminated in the conference finals by Toronto FC.

The 2020 season started brightly for United, with two wins in two matches before the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a near four-month layoff, United participated in the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Florida, losing all three of their matches. Following their elimination from the MLS is Back Tournament, De Boer and Atlanta United mutually agreed to end his relationship with the club.[29] He was replaced on an interim basis by Stephen Glass, who led the club following the resumption of league play in August.

At the end of 2020, former Argentina international defender Gabriel Heinze signed a two-year contract to be the next head coach.[30]

The team's name, logo and colors were unveiled on July 7, 2015. The logo features a circle reminiscent of the city's seal and Olympic heritage with a bold "A" at the center of the circle. Behind the "A" are five black and red stripes representing the five pillars of the team: unity, determination, community, excellence and innovation.[36] The team's official colors are black (for strength and power), red (or "Victory Red," as the team calls it, for pride and passion), and gold (for a commitment to excellence).[37] The team has become unofficially known as "The Five Stripes" based on the five stripes on the team's inaugural home kits.[38]

In February 2019, on the heels of the club's first MLS championship, Atlanta unveiled a new primary kit for the upcoming 2019 season. The new design is nicknamed "Star and Stripes" and was created by Adidas.[39] Changes include a move from five thick stripes to nine thinner stripes on the front, red socks instead of black, and a gold star above the team crest.[40]

On July 12, 2016 the team announced American Family Insurance as its primary jersey sponsor for the first team. The terms and length of the contract were not disclosed.[41] Truist is the official kit sponsor at the youth academy level.[42] On February 4, 2020, the club announced that it had expanded its partnership with local healthcare provider Piedmont Healthcare. As part of the partnership expansion, Piedmont became the first team's sleeve sponsor and the main sponsor for the reserve team.[43] Later, the team announced Truist Financial and NAPA as short and sleeve sponsors.[44]

On November 14, 2017, Atlanta United announced that they would be launching a reserve team to compete in the United Soccer League, the second division of American soccer.[45] Club president Darren Eales said that the new team was launched to "bridge the gap between our best in class academy and our First Team." The team, Atlanta United 2, began play in the Eastern Conference of what is now called USL Championship in the 2018 season.

Atlanta United operate a youth academy that competes in the United States Soccer Development Academy.[46] The academy began play in the 2016–2017 USSDA season and has seven youth teams: U-19, U-17, U-16, U-15, U-14, U-13 and U-12. Participation in the academy is free for all players and participants are eligible to be signed to the Atlanta United first team as a Homegrown Player. The club has signed six players to first team contracts and three players to reserve team contracts since the academy launched.[47]

In addition to its USSDA programs, the academy also operates a soccer development program to identify players playing for local youth clubs and promote them to the academy.[48] The club also operates the Atlanta United Regional Development School, a pre-academy feeder program for players aged 8–14 to provide training and development for advanced local players and identify potential academy players, as well as the United Juniors Program, a special development program to provide supplemental development for U-12 players playing for other Atlanta-area youth clubs.[49]

The club shares Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. The club typically curtains off the upper level of the stadium[20][3] to create a more intimate atmosphere for soccer.[50] For most games, Mercedes-Benz Stadium holds 42,500 people. The team used the curtains for six of nine home matches during the inaugural season. When expanded to full capacity, the stadium can hold 71,000 people, with standing room for at least 73,019 people (based on attendance at MLS Cup 2018). To create a better match-day experience, stands are retractable to accommodate a larger field and allow better sight lines. When Atlanta was announced as an expansion team, Blank vowed, "There will never be an MLS game in Atlanta where NFL lines are shown on the field"[3] – a previous point of contention for teams that have played in stadiums primarily used for American football.

In January 2016, the opening of the stadium was delayed three months to June 2017.[51] The team was originally scheduled to move into Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 30, 2017; however, the complexity of the eight-panel retractable roof caused another delay in the stadium's opening. As the team could not use Bobby Dodd Stadium in August due to Georgia Tech having priority,[52] the rivalry match against Orlando City was moved up one day from July 30 to 29, and two home fixtures originally scheduled to be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in August were moved to September.[53] The team's first match in the stadium took place on September 10, 2017, against FC Dallas.

In August 2015, the club announced plans for training facilities, academy facilities, and sporting headquarters in Decatur.[54] However, the results of an environmental and geotechnical feasibility studies found that the site on Memorial Drive was unfeasible, and in November 2015 plans for the facility were canceled.[55] Instead, the facility was built on a 33-acre plot on Franklin Gateway in Marietta. On April 11, 2017, the $60 million facility was opened, named the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground. The facility includes a 30,000 square foot building that acts as the club's sporting headquarters and houses locker rooms for the first team, reserve team, and academy teams, a full-service dining hall, and sports science facilities including a gymnasium and two hydrotherapy plunge pools.[56] The facility also includes six outdoor training fields, including a showcase field with a stand that can seat 2,500 spectators. On March 28, 2019, the Marietta City Council agreed to sell an additional 17 acres (6.9 ha) of land to the club to expand the training facilities as well as extend the lease on the existing facility on city-owned land by an additional five years.[57]

A view of Bobby Dodd Stadium, where Atlanta United played part of its inaugural season in 2017.

The first team played its home matches in the first half of the 2017 MLS season at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium due to delays in the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.[58][59] Although the club sought a balanced home-and-away schedule during their spell at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta United did not play any home matches from March 19 to April 29 to avoid conflicts with the Yellow Jackets' spring football scrimmages.[60] According to club officials, the Georgia Dome was not considered a viable option to temporarily host the team, since delaying the Dome's planned demolition would have also delayed the completion of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.[61]

Atlanta United has four main supporter groups: Terminus Legion, Resurgence, Footie Mob, and the Faction.[62]

Terminus Legion is a supporter group that was created in March 2011 by graphic designer Matt Stigall, who wanted a way to show that Atlanta fans would support soccer despite the perception of the city as a "lazy sports town". The group was named after the name given to Atlanta when it was first settled, and its logo featuring a cow catcher and railroad ties reflect the city's history as a locomotive hub. In the days since the expansion team was awarded, its membership doubled to over 500, and in the time leading up to 2017, Stigall said the group would support "all Atlanta soccer" including the Atlanta Silverbacks of the NASL and at the grassroots level, and make road trips to rival Orlando City matches.[63]

Footie Mob is a supporter group established in 2014, their name a take on Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob. The group is known for pre-game tailgating and incorporating Atlanta's music culture into the supporter culture.[64]

By December 2015, the supporters of the new MLS team had already pledged to purchase more than 29,000 season tickets.[65] As of December 2017, the team had more than 36,000 season ticket holders.[66]

All Stripes is an LGBT supporter group established in 2017.[67][68]

In 2018, the Bleacher Report declared Atlanta the "Black Soccer Capital of America" due to the emerging presence of African-Americans supporting Atlanta United which is atypical with MLS teams.[69]

On September 12, 2017, Atlanta United announced that the team had sold more than 69,256 tickets for the September 16 match against Orlando City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, breaking the league record for single-match attendance. The previous record of 69,255 tickets sold was held by LA Galaxy. The game's official attendance was 70,425, making Atlanta the first MLS team to surpass 70,000 in attendance for a non-doubleheader match.[70]

On October 5, 2017, the team announced they had sold more than 70,456 tickets for the October 22 match against Toronto FC.[71] This allowed the team to break both the record for highest average attendance in a season for MLS (held by Seattle Sounders), as well as the record for highest average attendance in a season for professional soccer in the United States, which was held by New York Cosmos. The game's official attendance was 71,874, which broke the MLS single-match attendance record for a second time.[72][73] Atlanta finished the season with an average attendance of 48,200 for MLS regular season games, a number higher than that of multiple major clubs such as English sides Everton and Chelsea.[74][75]

On March 11, 2018, the team broke the league single-match attendance record for the third time, selling 72,035 tickets for their 2018 season home opener against D.C. United.[76]

On June 30, 2018, fans set another record with 71,932 in attendance, more than any other soccer game happening that day in the world, including the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[77]

On July 15, 2018, the team again set the league single-match attendance record with 72,243 in attendance.[78]

Atlanta broke the league record for average regular-season attendance again in 2018, breaking their 2017 record and becoming the first MLS team to average more than 50,000 in attendance with an average attendance of 53,002.[79]

On December 8, 2018, Atlanta United won its first MLS Cup before a crowd of 73,019, the largest non-doubleheader crowd in league history.[1]

On August 3, 2019, the team set another single-match attendance record, with 72,548 in attendance for their home matchup against the LA Galaxy.[80] As of March 7, 2020, Atlanta United currently holds the top ten single-game regular-season attendance records in MLS.[81]

A fan signs the Golden Spike prior to the game on November 11, 2018

During their inaugural season, Atlanta United introduced a ritual called the Golden Spike in a nod to the city's railroad history. Prior to the game, players and supporters sign a large golden railroad spike, which is then marched into the stadium by supporters and often hammered into a platform by a local VIP. Additionally, after each game, the player voted as the game's Man of the Match hammers a spike.[82] Local celebrities that took part in the Golden Spike tradition during 2017 included hip hop artists 2 Chainz, Yung Joc, and Waka Flocka, as well as country musician Zac Brown, retired Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones, and Atlanta basketball players Tiffany Hayes and Dennis Schröder.[83] Atlanta native rap artist Archie Eversole also participated in the Golden Spike tradition and would later compose a rap anthem for the club entitled "United We Conquer."[84][85] In 2018, notable celebrity participants included singer T-Pain,[86] Dutch soccer legend Edgar Davids,[87] Atlanta multi-sports star Brian Jordan,[88] boxing legend Evander Holyfield,[89] and rappers Jeezy,[90] Killer Mike,[91] and Big Boi.[92] At MLS Cup 2018, owner Arthur Blank hammered the Spike.[93] 2019 saw celebrities such as wrestling legend Ric Flair,[94] Hollywood icon Ron Howard,[95] hip hop group Goodie Mob,[96] and basketball star Dikembe Mutombo[97] participate in the tradition.

As of February 3, 2021[100]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	Goalkeeper	Brad Guzan	United States
2	Defender	Franco Escobar	Argentina
4	Defender	Anton Walkes	England
5	Midfielder	Eric Remedi	Argentina
6	Defender	Fernando Meza	Argentina
7	Forward	Josef Martínez (DP)	Venezuela
8	Midfielder	Ezequiel Barco (DP)	Argentina
9	Midfielder	Matheus Rossetto	Brazil
10	Midfielder	Marcelino Moreno (DP)	Argentina
11	Defender	Brooks Lennon	United States
12	Defender	Miles Robinson	United States
16	Forward	Erik López	Paraguay
20	Midfielder	Emerson Hyndman	United States
21	Defender	George Bello (HG)	United States
22	Midfielder	Jürgen Damm	Mexico
23	Forward	Jake Mulraney	Ireland
25	Goalkeeper	Alec Kann	United States
28	Forward	Tyler Wolff (HG)	United States
29	Midfielder	Mo Adams	England
31	Forward	Erick Torres	Mexico
32	Defender	George Campbell (HG)	United States
35	Defender	Efrain Morales (HG)	United States
36	Forward	Jackson Conway (HG)	United States
—	Defender	Mikey Ambrose	United States
—	Forward	Machop Chol (HG)	Sudan
—	Defender	Andrew Gutman (on loan from Celtic)	United States
—	Forward	Lisandro López	Argentina

On February 10, 2017, Atlanta United announced that the number 17 would be reserved for the fans. The number marks the year of the team's first inaugural season in MLS. Atlanta United aims to recognize that from the very beginning, the fans, the city, and the people define the spirit and essence of this team.[101]

On January 22, 2021, the club also reserved for the 2021 MLS season the number 44. Following the death of Hank Aaron, a National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee who played for the local MLB club from 1966-74 at 86, Atlanta-area sports teams on the amateur and professional level agreed to retire Aaron's 44 regardless of sport as a tribute.[102]

The following players have received international caps while playing for the club:

• Miguel Almirón[103]
• Carlos Carmona[103]
• Greg Garza[103]
• Brad Guzan[104]
• Kenwyne Jones[103]
• Josef Martínez[105]
• Pity Martínez[105]
• Darlington Nagbe[106]
• Héctor Villalba[105]
• Romario Williams[107]
• Justin Meram[108]
• Miles Robinson[108]
• Florentin Pogba[109]

This list of Atlanta United FC players contains players with one or more appearances.

Role	Name	Nationality
Head coach, first team	Gabriel Heinze	Argentina
Assistant coach, first team	Mariano Toedtli	Argentina
Assistant coach, second team	Nicolas Pavlovich	Argentina
Assistant coach, third team	Pedro Mateo Leivas	Spain
Goalkeeper coach	Liam Curran	Australia
Head of sport science	Ryan Alexander	United States
Head athletic trainer	Mario Cruz	United States
Head of technical recruitment and analysis	Lucy Rushton	England
Head coach, reserve team	Stephen Glass	Scotland
Assistant coach, reserve team	Henry Apaloo	England
Fitness coach, reserve team	Javier Vilamitjana	Argentina
Video analyst, reserve team	Diego Navone	Argentina
Academy director	Tony Annan	England

*-interim [117]

Role	Name	Nationality
Owner	Arthur Blank	United States
President	Darren Eales	England
Chief financial officer	Rob Geoffroy	United States
Vice president, technical director	Carlos Bocanegra	United States
Vice president, business operations	Catie Griggs	United States
Director of player administration	Chase Falivene	United States
Head of international player recruitment & development	Jonathan Spector	United States

[117]

President history

• Darren Eales : September 10, 2014 – present

Head coach history

• Gerardo "Tata" Martino : September 27, 2016 – December 10, 2018
• Frank de Boer : December 23, 2018 – July 24, 2020
• Stephen Glass (interim) : July 27, 2020 – December 12, 2020
• Gabriel Heinze : December 18, 2020 –

• Campeones Cup
  • Winners: 2019

• MLS Cup
  • Winners: 2018
• U.S. Open Cup
  • Winners: 2019
• Eastern Conference
  • Winners (playoffs): 2018

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Atlanta. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Atlanta United FC seasons.

Season	League											Position		Playoffs	USOC	Continental / Other		Average attendance	Top goalscorer(s)
	Div	League	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Conf.	Overall						Name(s)	Goals
2017	1	MLS	34	15	9	10	70	40	+30	55	1.62	4th	4th	R1	R5	Not Eligible		48,200	Josef Martínez	20
2018		MLS	34	21	7	6	70	44	+26	69	2.03	2nd	2nd	W	R5	Not Eligible		53,002	Josef Martínez	35♦
2019		MLS	34	18	12	4	58	43	+15	58	1.71	2nd	3rd	SF	W	CONCACAF Champions League Campeones Cup	QF W	52,510	Josef Martínez	33
2020		MLS	23	6	13	4	23	30	–7	22	0.96	12th	23rd	DNQ	NH	CONCACAF Champions League MLS is Back Tournament	QF GS	27,193	Jon Gallagher Gonzalo Martínez	4
2021		MLS													Round of 32	CONCACAF Champions League	R16

^ 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, MLS is Back Tournament, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

As of December 1, 2020[118]

Rank	Name	Years	MLS	Playoffs	USOC	CCL	Campeones	Total
1	Josef Martínez	2017–	77	5	2	5	1	90
2	Miguel Almirón	2017–2018	21	1	0	0	0	22
	Héctor Villalba	2017–2019	21	1	0	0	0
4	Julian Gressel	2017–2019	15	2	1	2	0	20
5	Ezequiel Barco	2018–	10	0	1	0	0	11
	Pity Martínez	2019–2020	7	0	2	2	0
7	Brandon Vazquez	2017–2019	3	0	6	0	0	9
8	Yamil Asad	2017	7	0	0	0	0	7
9	Franco Escobar	2018–	2	3	0	0	0	5
	Emerson Hyndman	2019–	3	0	1	0	1
	Jeff Larentowicz	2017–2020	4	0	0	0	1

As of March 9, 2020[118]

Rank	Name	Years	MLS	Playoffs	USOC	CCL	Campeones	Total
1	Julian Gressel	2017–2019	35	2	2	0	0	39
2	Miguel Almirón	2017–2018	28	2	0	0	0	30
3	Héctor Villalba	2017–2019	24	0	0	0	0	24
4	Pity Martínez	2019–	11	2	1	3	0	17
5	Josef Martínez	2017–	11	1	0	2	0	14
6	Yamil Asad	2017	13	0	0	0	0	13
	Ezequiel Barco	2018–	7	2	2	2	0
8	Greg Garza	2017–2018	8	0	0	0	0	8
	Darlington Nagbe	2018–2019	7	0	0	1	0
10	Leandro González Pírez	2017–2019	6	0	1	0	0	7