The news that Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be playing host to the opening match of the 2024 Copa America has barely settled, but the U.S. Women’s National Team upped the stakes even more on Thursday.
U.S. Soccer just announced that the Benz will also be the venue for the opening double-header of the 2024 SheBelieves Cup – complete with natural grass installed by the federation. The ninth annual iteration of the event is part of U.S. Soccer’s SheBelieves initiative to inspire and empower women and girls to achieve their goals in sport and beyond. The matches will be played on April 6th, 2024, with the USWNT kicking off the festivities against their opponent at 12:30 before the second match is fielded at 3:30.
“These are the first U.S. Soccer-controlled matches of the Olympic year for our Women’s National Team and we’re looking forward to a big turnout at one of the best stadiums in the world,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. “We’re also excited to play our first match in the Atlanta area since we announced the site of our new National Training Center. From my time playing there for the Atlanta Beat, I know what the support for soccer and for our National Teams in the southeast is like and these opening games of the SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta will be a perfect way to launch our spring run to the Olympics next summer.”
The Concacaf W Gold Cup will also be played in February and March, leading up to the 2024 Olympics, so this upcoming SheBelieves Cup format will be slightly different. The opening two matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will serve as the semi-finals, while another venue will host the final and third-place match on April 9th. The typical 6-game format will return in 2025 during a much less congested year of matches.
Tickets will go on presale for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup matches in Atlanta on Friday, December 15 and conclude on Monday, December 25 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets purchased will be valid for both matches that matchday. For the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public, U.S. Soccer noted that fans should consider becoming U.S. Soccer Insiders.
General public tickets will go on sale in mid-January when the three other participating national teams are announced. Those three teams will also be ones that participated in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Since the inaugural version in 2016, the USWNT has won the tournament six out of eight times, with France taking 2017 and England taking 2019.
If you haven’t yet, set your reminder for tonight’s Scarves and Spikes live episode as Jason Longshore joins to chat about this USWNT news, plus MLS Cup and the latest Atlanta United info! (Josh Cohen, anyone)